Apart from a bright spark of hope in the victory of the Gaza motion, this year’s conference lacked vision and purpose — we need to urgently reconnect Labour with its roots rather than weakly aping the flag-waving right, argues KIM JOHNSON MP

THOUGH considered an abject failure by many, the enormous British anti-war movement against the 2003 Iraq War has had a number of long-lasting impacts on British politics and society.
One unfortunate effect is, nearly 20 years later, the movement’s inability to stop the invasion continues to breed defeatism when it comes to the general public influencing British foreign policy.
For example, discussing the large-scale British protests against the recent Israeli bombardment of Gaza, one Middle East scholar quipped on Twitter, “If history has taught me anything, when people in Britain march against immoral actions in the Middle East, their government will almost certainly ignore them.”

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