Sedgemore renounces Blair, the devil and all his old colleagues

Comment: "Brian Sedgemore: 'I urge everyone to give Blair a bloody nose at the election'
26 April 2005

I support every word of this speech. I agree with kennedy, that this is the defining moment of this elcetion. Sedgemore has been the first to properly articulate the way Blair and New Labour have betrayed this Liberal Democracy.

The appalling truth is that it will make no real difference. Blair will be re-elected.

It proves Livy was right when he wrote of ancient Rome that while people were still poor they acted decently. Wealth has only brought decay and degeneration of public morality.

Sedgemore says "The idea and practice of Britain as a liberal country has always been under threat but it has taken a Labour prime minister to secure its demise. For Tony Blair, principles and ideas have become impediments to the continuance of his lust for power.
His scorn for liberal Britain is surprising for one who had an expensive liberal education and who entered politics as an aspirant liberal lawyer, an ardent member of CND and a standard-bearer for the left.
People such as myself should have realised the writing was on the wall when a Labour government twice tried to abolish trial by jury. From there, it was a short step for Blair (but a huge step for the rest of us) to get suppliant backbench Labour MPs to vote for an unlawful war, the setting up of a gulag at Belmarsh for foreigners and deprivation of liberty through 'control orders' and 'pass laws' for British citizens.
I voted against the war on Iraq and it becomes clearer every day that Blair decided to go to war after meeting [President George] Bush on his Texas ranch in 2002. After that he lied to persuade the country to support him.
The stomach-turning lies on Iraq were followed by the attempt to use the politics of fear to drive through Parliament a deeply authoritarian set of law and order measures that reminded me of the Star Chamber. The Star Chamber used torture but at least they allowed a proper trial before throwing someone into prison.
That is when I decided enough was enough. I've been a Labour MP for more than a quarter of a century. In my last speech in Parliament, I described New Labour's descent into Hell and added that Hell was not a place where I wanted to be.
Some MPs thought it was just rhetoric. It wasn't. I meant it.

I am going to leave" There is more of this via the link above. I urge you to read it.