New party to fight on anti-war platform
Anti-war campaigners have united under the umbrella of a new political party which they say will take on Labour in 70 constituencies at the next general election.
The party, known as Spectre, features among its membership prominent anti-war campaigners like Rose Gentle and Reg Keys, both of whom stood for parliament in the last general election.
“This movement is growing and by forming a political party we’ll have a focus of that anger,” Ms Gentle explained to the Guardian.
“I’m getting between 200 and 300 emails a day from bereaved families, concerned military families and serving soldiers who all feel angry at the way we have been lied to.”
Both Ms Gentle and Mr Keys are parents of soldiers who have been killed while serving with British forces in Iraq.
They argue that because no weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq, the US-led coalition launched its attack on a false premise and the invasion was therefore illegal under international law.
“Saddam didn’t have weapons of mass destruction; he was no threat to us. So we feel those lives were lost for nothing,” Mr Keys explained.
Mr Keys took over ten per cent of the vote in Tony Blair’s Sedgefield constituency when he stood against the prime minister on an anti-war ticket last year.
The planned official launch of the party during September’s Labour party conference would be likely to continue the anti-war campaign’s high profile in the UK media.
