By Aisha
Maniar
Demonstrating
that foreign policy issues and their implications on domestic issues are of
concern to the electorate, over 80 local residents joined a packed out lively
pre-election meeting organised by Brent Stop The War (STW) and Brent &
Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) with the Pakistan Community Centre
in Willesden Green on Monday 13 April.
Questions
had been submitted for candidates ahead of the meeting on various issues,
including Trident renewal, the Iraq war, Israeli settlements, British torture
complicity, relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran and Israel’s nuclear weapons and
European relations with Israel.
The London
Borough of Brent covers three constituencies: Brent North, Brent Central and
Hampstead & Kilburn. As members of the two host
organisations live in all three constituencies, five prospective Parliamentary
candidates were invited from these constituencies, however Luke Parker,
Conservative candidate for Brent North, had to cancel just days before and the
party was not represented. Labour candidate for Hampstead & Kilburn Tulip
Siddiq represented her party; the Liberal Democrats (Lib Dem) were represented
by Brent Central’s Lauren Keith, speaking at her first such meeting since her
recent appointment, and the recently-formed Trade Union and Socialist Coalition
(TUSC) Party was represented by Brent Central candidate John Boyle. Due to a
CND engagement at the same time, the Green Party was represented for the first
half by Brent Central candidate and deputy party leader Shahrar Ali and for the
second half by Hampstead & Kilburn candidate Rebecca Johnson, who was
billed. Tulip Siddiq had to leave halfway through to attend another engagement.
The meeting was capably chaired by Jane Shallice from the Stop The War
Coalition.
The
candidates were first asked about their views on Trident renewal and whether
public funds should be used for this purpose when consecutive governments claim
that there are insufficient funds for essential public services such as
schools, hospitals and the fire service. The Labour and Lib Dem candidates did
not oppose Trident renewal. Instead, Labour’s Tulip Siddiq stated that there
was a need to look holistically at creating self-sufficient public services.
Lauren Keith, while not against Trident, said there was a need to review
Britain’s military capacity and aim for a de-escalation of nuclear arms.
On the other
hand, Shahrar Ali and John Boyle, sitting on the opposite side of the female
speakers, were both unequivocally for the scrapping of Trident altogether. Ali
stated that there is no need for nuclear weapons at all and that the UK must
honour its non-proliferation obligations under international law. He further
stated that while men largely draw countries into war, it is the women and
children both at home and abroad who suffer from these wars and as a result of
cuts to public services made at the same time as increases to military budgets.
Boyle stated that the government’s ability to renew Trident “exposes the lie of
austerity”.
Concerning
the Iraq War and current British military intervention there, Tulip Siddiq
called Britain’s 2003 involvement in the invasion of the country “the biggest
failing of the Labour government”. All the other candidates were also opposed
to further British intervention in Iraq; Lauren Keith stated the region needs
to be looked at more broadly and that Britain should consider talks with Iran
and reviews its relations with Gulf states. Britain should be involved through
diplomacy and negotiation. Shahrar Ali stated that reflection is also needed on
state terrorism by the states involved in the conflict, such as the UK, and its
ramifications on clampdowns on civil liberties at home and freedom of speech,
especially for those who oppose government foreign policy. Instead of war,
diplomatic avenues must be considered. John Boyle called the Iraq War “a war
for resources” and stated that the UK’s close relationship with Saudi Arabia
demonstrates that social justice is a false pretext for grabbing resources.
Commenting
on claims and proven evidence of torture complicity against the British
government, the Labour and Lib Dem candidates called for accountability and
transparency. Lauren Keith called ‘secret courts’ rolled out by the ConDem
government “dangerous territory”. Rebecca Johnson for the Green Party stated
that soldiers are trained to lose their sense of morality and evidence of
brutality and inhumane treatment is further proved through the increase in
domestic violence when soldiers return home. Ms Johnson said that those
responsible at all levels should be prosecuted and that there should be “no impunity
whatsoever for anyone in war or peacetime”. She added that returning soldiers
also needed therapy. John Boyle stated the police and army lack democratic
accountability and that the problem was far from one of weeding out a few bad
apples but of systemic abuse.
Questioned
on their views on the Palestine and Israel conflict, the candidates were all
unanimous that there should be a ban on the import and sale of Israeli
settlement goods. There was also agreement that there was media bias in the
reporting of the conflict and what Rebecca Johnson called the “invisibility” of
the everyday suffering of Palestinians in the media. John Boyle said that it
was up to politicians to combat this bias by using the stage they are given
through their position and taking direct action to raise awareness. Lauren Keith
suggested that social media was a tool available to politicians for such
purposes.The candidates were less sure, however, on the question of how to deal
with the current situation.
On the
question of NATO membership, both the Greens and TUSC said that Britain should
leave NATO whereas the Lib Dem candidate said we should remain a member. The
candidates were also divided on the issue of Britain’s involvement in Ukraine
and whether it should intervene further.
Asked about
the impact of foreign policy issues closer to home, all of the candidates
reported to be pro-immigration. Rebecca Johnson stated that the issue was not
immigration but social inequality and that those are the issues that need to be
tackled. With respect to radicalisation, Lauren Keith stated that the reasons
for radicalisation are diverse and that greater transparency and honesty is
needed in the political system to deal with it. Rebecca Johnson stated that one
of the contributing factors driving young people to radicalisation is the
closure of or lack of youth services as a result of increasing cuts. John Boyle
stated that the issue was largely a colonial legacy and related to Islamophobia
and the marginalisation of communities and racism of the British government.
The interest
and depth of questions posed by those attending the meeting shows that,
although governments tend to overlook public opinion on foreign policy,
particularly where such opinions are opposed to war and militancy, these are
certainly topics that concern and engage the public. What happens on these
issues after 7th May remains to be seen.
Thank you
to everyone who attended and to the Pakistan Community Centre for providing
refreshments.
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