Cameron, Corbyn, the Libya blame game and fall out of war

Celebrations September 2011 were premature

Opinion: At the 2015 General Election Tory PM David Cameron said he would step down from his role sometime before the 2020 General election.

He indicated he would serve a full term before doing so.

Having committed the country to an EU in or out referendum his premiership was never going to survive a BRexit vote.

He was soon toast but this week he has announced he is quitting his parliamentary role as MP for Witney but why?

There could be many reasons including the deep divisions in the Conservative Party, his dislike of Ms May's plans for the reintroduction of Grammar Schools, May's shift further right politically, being made an offer he could not refuse and more.

But could it be the damning report on Libya released Wednesday?

Mr Cameron now finds himself in a similar position to former Labour PM Tony Blair.

The Independent has run with the following headline "David Cameron 'ultimately responsible’ for Libya collapse and the rise of Isis, Commons report concludes." That article says:

The bloody collapse of Libya – which triggered a refugee crisis and aided the rise of Isis – is blamed today on David Cameron’s blunders when he intervened to overthrow Colonel Gaddafi.
A damning report by MPs condemns the 2011 military campaign for lacking both “accurate intelligence” and a coherent strategy for the aftermath of removing the dictator.
The disastrous results were “political and economic collapse”, tribal warfare, the refugee crisis, widespread human rights abuses and the rise of Islamic State (IS) in North Africa, fuelled by weapons abandoned by the Gaddafi regime.
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Many will say tell us something we do not know!

In March this year US President Barack Obama was scathing of Cameron and Libya. "Barack Obama says David Cameron allowed Libya to become a 's*** show'" in an unprecedented attack claiming the UK was 'distracted'.

But the UK was not solely responsible for intervention in Libya or perhaps it was.

One politician that analysed what was liable to happen and tried to prevent British bombing of Libya and our intervention in an uprising was Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington and current leader of the Labour Party.

Jeremy Corbyn MP @jeremycorbyn Obama, Sarkozy and Cameron letter confirms tat Libya war is about regime change. Parliament did not approve that; time for a recall.15 Apr 2011, 9:20 am

Wednesday Jeremy Corbyn looked Cruella de Ville aka PM Theresa May in the eye as she morphed into a cross between Dodgy Dave Cameron, the nasty Margaret Thatcher and herself, wagging her finger, or was it a pen, at him during PMQs resorting to personal attack.

She was painful viewing playing a harridan so we reached for the remote and flipped channels.

Personal attack is something she has learned from David Cameron's premiership; Mr Corbyn does not do personal attacks preferring instead to attack policies but the Tories like to get down and dirty taking the heat away from themselves.

They try to rattle Corbyn and make him lose his thread but they never make him drop to their level.

So Ms May failed to debate serious policies preferring instead to comment on the Labour leadership election and Corbyn's re-election chances.

If Owen Smith wins it will be back to the same old PMQs with tit for tat attacks and a cross between vaudeville and a whitehall farce.

Some people even in the Labour Party may have tried to make Jeremy Corbyn fall at every hurdle but for many including me he has been a breath of fresh air revitalising political debate.

Corbyn is often proved right and perhaps May was miffed as that has happened again and this time on our involvement with the coup to oust Colonel Gaddafi.

in March 2011 Mr Corbyn wrote a piece in the Guardian titled "Libya and the suspicious rush to war." That opinion piece begins:
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The House of Commons is debating the government stance on UN resolution 1973, having been invited to give its approval or withhold it. It's a bit late, as the prime minister made a statement to the Commons on Friday and within 24 hours the bombing had started. We are presented with a fait accompli.

The debate, however, takes place against a background of growing concerns about the nature of the military operation, the intensity of the air strikes, the implications for the whole region, and the real motive behind the Arab League in calling for this in the first place. India is the first country to publicly call for a cessation of air strikes. Others are likely to follow.
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UN security council resolution 1973 was heavily trailed as a no-fly-zone resolution. Like most UN resolutions it is very long. It specifically welcomed the appointment of the UN special envoy Abdel-Elah Mohamed Al-Khatib and in its proposals under chapter 7 of the UN charter (mandatory for all member states) demanded a ceasefire, stressed the need to find a solution to the conflict through the UN special envoy, and demanded that the Libyan authorities fulfil their international obligations under humanitarian law.

That piece is well worth reading and we have added a link at the bottom of this report.

Jeremy Corbyn is not a flip-flop politician who changes his mind to suit.

He worked tirelessly as an MP speaking at Stop the War rallies across the UK and consistently voting against further conflict.

Can that be said of others?

In March 2011 BBC News reported "The full list of how MPs voted on Libya action."

The House of Commons voted by 557 to 13 to support UN-backed action in Libya at the end of their debate on 21 March 2011 - here is the full list of MPs who voted against, or did not vote:

Fifteen MPs (13 voted against plus two "tellers") against:Conservative: John Baron (Basildon & Billericay).

Labour: Graham Allen (Nottingham North), Ronnie Campbell (Blyth Valley), Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North), Barry Gardiner (Brent North), Roger Godsiff (Birmingham Hall Green), John McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington), Linda Riordan (Halifax), Dennis Skinner (Bolsover), Mike Wood (Batley and Spen), Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran), Yasmin Qureshi (Bolton South-East)
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Green Party: Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion)

SDLP: Mark Durkan (Foyle), Margaret Ritchie (Down South

Those in favour included:
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Labour: Joe Benton (Bootle), Hazel Blears (Salford and Eccles), Chris Bryant (Rhondda), David Cairns (Inverclyde), Michael Connarty (Linlithgow & Falkirk East), Rosie Cooper (Lancashire West), Frank Doran (Aberdeen North), Angela Eagle (Wallasey), Caroline Flint (Don Valley), Paul Flynn (Newport West), Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East), Tom Harris (Glasgow South), Stephen Hepburn (Jarrow), Jim Hood (Lanark & Hamilton East), George Howarth (Knowsley), Tristram Hunt (Stoke-on-Trent Central), Glenda Jackson (Hampstead & Kilburn), Sian James (Swansea East), Alan Keen (Feltham & Heston), Denis MacShane (Rotherham), Siobhain McDonagh (Mitcham & Morden), Alison McGovern (Wirral South), Alan Meale (Mansfield), Austin Mitchell (Great Grimsby), George Mudie (Leeds East), Fiona O'Donnell (East Lothian), Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central), Marsha Singh (Bradford West), Sir Peter Soulsby (Leicester South), Graham Stringer (Blackley & Broughton), Tom Watson (West Bromwich East), Dave Watts (St Helens North), David Winnick (Walsall North)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12816279
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/wbarack-obama-says-david-cameron-allowed-libya-to-become-a-s-show-a6923976.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/libya-david-cameron-isis-islamic-state-ultimately-responsible-for-leading-to-collapse-and-rise-of-a7251331.html
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/libya-war-partition-military-action