Syria bombing: John McDonnell compares Hilary Benn to Blair warning ‘great speeches cause great mistakes’ – Mirror Online

Last Updated: December 3, 2015By

John McDonnell has hit back at Hilary Benn by comparing his Syria bombing speech to Tony Blair ‘s disastrous plea for the Iraq War.

The shadow chancellor – who has said Mr Blair should be tried for war crimes – warned ‘the greatest oratory can lead us to the greatest mistakes’ in the aftermath of last night’s vote.

MPs backed airstrikes by a huge 174-strong majority after 66 Labour MPs decided to back David Cameron ‘s stance in the free vote.

It’s thought several were persuaded by a passionate despatch-box-thumping performance by Hilary Benn which reduced MPs to tears.

But Mr McDonnell told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I thought Hilary’s oratory was great. It reminded me of Tony Blair ‘s speech taking us into the Iraq War and I’m always anxious that the greatest oratories can lead us to the greatest mistakes as well.”

Source: Syria bombing: John McDonnell compares Hilary Benn to Blair warning ‘great speeches cause great mistakes’ – Mirror Online

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!

Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(
but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:

Donate Button with Credit Cards

Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.

Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:

HWG PrintHWG eBook

The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:

SWAHTprint SWAHTeBook

latest video

news via inbox

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

7 Comments

  1. Rupert Mitchell (@rupert_rrl) December 3, 2015 at 3:57 pm - Reply

    I have been against bombing IS purely on the basis that, no matter how accurate a missile might be, it cannot be accurate to the extent that it can differentiate between and innocent child and a terrorist.

    We have to do something to stop IS and if this is the least cruel way of doing it I would concur. However, I personally am not clever enough to come up with any alternative idea but I would have thought it wiser to give more time to MPs and their constituents to consider alternative actions.

    My own view, for what it is worth, is that we can’t just turn out heads away and wait for the inevitable. We need to stop patronising those countries that are assisting IS for purely financial gain and, dreadful though it is to contemplate such action, I feel that NATO ground forces are the only way to deal with this situation.

    I hope with all my heart that others will come up with a better solution.

  2. Gary Bowman December 3, 2015 at 4:06 pm - Reply

    Benn setting out his stall for a leadership bid? Bloody turncoat, his father would be so proud!

  3. che December 3, 2015 at 4:21 pm - Reply

    At least somebody with principles

  4. mohandeer December 3, 2015 at 4:23 pm - Reply

    Hilary Benn is not the only Labour MP to have abandoned his principles. Chuka Ummuna also told reporters he had to vote according to his constituency’s wishes yet he did not poll them or make any effort to find out what their wished were. Very few “voting in accordance with their constituents” had any idea what that vote should be, precisely because they still think the Labour Party is “Theirs” to command and control, rather than “ours” to shape and influence towards compromise. They ALL abandoned their principles when they lied about whose interests they were representing.

  5. AndyH December 3, 2015 at 4:32 pm - Reply

    If it wasn’t for the new voting system, Benn would be leader by the end of the parliamentary year.

  6. Gary Bowman December 3, 2015 at 4:38 pm - Reply

    Just a thought, when Paris was attacked by IS, ISIS DAESCH or SCUM (take your pick) were British airstrikes in Syria to “support the allied coalition” so necessary, yet when the innocent UK tourists in Tunisia were horribly murdered by these same evil bastards, there were no massive calls for everybody to unite behind us provoking debates in various allied governments? Maybe I am wrong and I apologise and stand to be corrected if I missed it!
    Maybe we were just late to the party and felt left out!

  7. Nick December 3, 2015 at 4:39 pm - Reply

    Hilary Benn has never paid a visit to this area of the world for a holiday and therefore any view that he or anyone holds for bombing should not even be coincided

    anyone with half a brain will tell you in that the President Bashar al-Assad of Syria is to blame for this crises

    he like the past presidents of Tunisia and Egypt have never had a clue about running a country so the people have had to rise up in many ways in order to bring about their own survival

    once and only once President Bashar al-Assad of Syria steps down could peace be restored

    and that at this time is the reality as going after a few terrorists and bombing them for another 5 years will just empty the country

    President Bashar al-Assad of Syria would then move on as he would no longer have anyone to govern and i expect that is the overall master plan of the the uk and that’s to get rid of the Syrian president when everyone else has left

Leave A Comment