Peace group condemn Woolas as warmonger

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group

Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group has praised Jim Dobbin and Paul Rowen as “politicians deserving a clear conscience”, but condemned their parliamentary colleague, Phil Woolas as “an inveterate warmonger.” They were reacting to the news that while the MPs for Rochdale and for Middleton and Heywood had voted against the government’s proposals to upgrade the Trident nuclear weapons system, Phil Woolas had failed to respond to calls from his constituents to vote against plans, which Greenpeace estimates will cost as much as £100,000,000,000 (one hundred billion) over the next decades.

On behalf of the peace group, Philip Gilligan said: “Jim Dobbin and Paul Rowen did as they had said they would; they clearly recognised that Trident is not only dangerous, but also a scandalous waste of taxpayers’ money which threatens to leech increasingly larger and larger amounts from spending on health and education; from pensions and from social care. We congratulate them for voting according to their consciences and trust that, like us, they will continue to actively campaign against this latest piece of nuclear madness, until Wednesday’s decision is reversed. Phil Woolas, on the other hand, appears again to have ignored the views of the majority of his constituents and voted in favour of an increased threat of death and destruction. Despite his past claims to have an “open mind” on the future of Trident, he has followed David Cameron and Tony Blair in voting for ever more dangerous and expensive nuclear weapons. In 2003, he voted for the illegal, immoral and ultimately tragic invasion of Iraq. Now in 2007, despite his promises to 'closely follow the debate', Milnrow’s MP appears to have simply ignored the many substantial arguments against Blair’s ill-conceived nuclear weapons policy and voted for Trident. Given the choice of voting for a more peaceful world or for upgrading an indiscriminate means of killing 50 million people, Phil Woolas was yet again to be found voting with the inveterate warmongers. 

“If the electorate want to make their own contribution to a more peaceful world, they will clearly need to think about voting for someone other than ‘Woolas the Warmonger’ at the next general election."