this is a matter of some importance to
me I alluded to the fact that I had
joined the Labour Party in 1967 that's
50 years ago that matters a great deal
to me it mattered a great deal to me to
become a ward secretary a ward chairman
the political education officer the vice
chairman the Chairman the full-time
secretary organiser of the Labour Party
mattered a great deal to me at the age
of 26 to be the youngest ever chairman
of the entire Labour Party in Scotland
when the Labour Party in Scotland was
something I can tell you it mattered a
lot to me to be a Labour Member of
Parliament I was proud of that
appellation more proud than you can
imagine
to be a Labour Member of Parliament was
the most important thing that I had or
ever had and so when the crisis with
Iraq broke what was I to do I knew the
truth and I knew that Tony Blair and his
cutter II were lying
I knew the facts and knew the falsehoods
so I faced dear listener a very great
dilemma indeed did I suppress the truth
did I keep silent about the facts did I
downplay or blunt my criticism of the
liars and the purveyors of falsehood in
the hope that I could continue as a
Labour MP well anyone who knows me
knows that there's only one way I could
resolve that dilemma and so I embarked
upon a course of action that I cannot
regret because to have done otherwise
would have been an offense against my
conscience and as someone who believes
in the Judgment Day the last election
day I knew that I would have to account
for what I did and what I didn't do
before the Lord as everyone must if you
believe the things I believe so I said
it like it was I told the truth the
whole truth and nothing but the truth I
confronted Tony Blair though I was a
mere backbencher I had no choice there
was no one else to do it for me mr.
Blair had gone too far he could twist
and cheat and all the rest and one had a
judgment to make as to whether one could
remain in the labor party in the face of
all this twisting and cheating but he
went too far when he plunged the whole
world into a cataclysmic war on a fake
prospectus and I could do no other than
oppose him there was no one else who
could do it better than me
if mr. Benn had still been in Parliament
he would have been that leader but he
wasn't and therefore only I who knew all
the facts more facts than anyone else
only I who had the ability thanks to God
and the kissing of the Blarney Stone to
speak it persuasively eloquently
powerfully only I had that power so what
could I do
I couldn't run away from the battlefield
I had to stay on it exposed isolated as
I was and I was proved right
everything I said turned out to be right
everything Tony Blair said turned out to
be wrong turned out to be false
where it wasn't a deliberate falsehood
and I have been in exile all these years
since 2003 until 2017 I have been in
exile in the desert of politics sure
I've twice twice beaten Tony Blair's
Labour Party in parliamentary elections
and I can show you my scars but it's a
very tough tough wicket not least
because I don't want to be doing it I
don't want to fight the Labour Party any
longer my friend is the leader of the
Labour Party my friend for almost 40
years is the leader of the Labour Party
and for the last two years he's having
to be fighting for his life fighting to
stay on his horse whilst all around him
the backstabbers were trying to destroy
him and now he's through all of that now
he's in command now he's changing the
Labour conference the Labour executive
now Jeremy Corbyn is in control and I
don't intend to fight the Labour Party
anymore
you