To those voting Labour with Delusions

I've got to be honest, this is one of my pet hates. It involves the legions of submissive non-thinkers repeating the mantra: "But the Tories are worse, so I have to vote Labour."

This illusion is clearly false. Both of the main wars fought under the Conservative Party during their period in power were questions of Sovereignty. With the Falklands it involved the sovereignty of the Malvinas / Falklands. With Iraq it involved the Sovereignty of Kuwait. While one might disagree with the methods and (occasionally) the results, it's hard to question the logic behind the philosophy that drove the actions.

Labour's numerous wars since it came to power in 1997 have involved disregarding the individual sovereignty of nations and taking decisions in abstentia of the population who actually live there. Way back when, Afghanistan was invaded, Kosovo was invaded; and more recently, Iraq has been invaded. In all three countries, violent and extreme measures have been used where formerly more peaceful measures have been successful. Unlike the wars of the previous regime, Labour can't have a straight debate about their conduct which led this country to war without wanting to avoid the subject and "move on."

Oh, that's right, tyrants only understand violence don't they? Except... in South Africa. Years of sanctions brought a heinous system crashing down, and avoided the individual right of nations to conduct themselves in the way they think best for their people. Nobody was invaded, and the good guy in Nelson Mandela won in the end.

This apparently benign and peaceful Labour Party has therefore showed itself to be far more Hawkish than the Conservatives were before them. Towards the end of their reign, the Conservatives reformed the police service to get away from it's "glory days" of torture, agent provocateurs and carnage of the 1970s, and the early 1990s saw the release of the Birmingham Six, the Guildford Four, as well as other minor longer-term convictions quashed. During the periods of War under Labour, we have seen a return of Interment (which the Tories happily practised in Northern Ireland), the social exlusion of migrants into this Country as well as the removal of basic personal human rights in ID Cards.

Now don't go away thinking I'm an apologist for the Conservatives since I remember the Miner's Strikes, the Poll Tax Riots and a vast amount of transient and equally pointless measures they introduced. What I don't agree with is dressing up a Wolf in Sheep clothing because he has a better smile than Michael Howard and because you want to feel better about yourself.

I'm more blunt about people voting Labour or Conservative. If you do, then the blood of every body-bag brought home is on your conscience. When you grumble about your Tax Bills, your freedoms or what the government is doing to your family then there is no cause for complaint. You voted Labour or Tory, the responsibility is yours.

Who is to blame for the war in Iraq? You are. You voted for them, and they acted under your mandate. When Gordon Gentle's - the Black Watch soldier killed, and whose mother is standing against Adam Ingram in East Kilbride in this election - body was brought home from Iraq the responsibility lay, in my opinion with three people. The one the planted the body, the goverment who sent him, and you who voted for them to get into power.

I've even heard the rather dubious and pointless addition: "But there's no other choice." Bullshit. Of course there is. Just look at the size of the bloody ballot papers. Your ancestors fought for the right to get working class people, and women in general, the vote. You have your Labour, Conservative, SNP, SSP, FSP, Christian, Green and idiotic dandies up and down the country who you can vote for.

So who is to blame, home and abroad, for the Blood on your countries hands? You fucking are.