A Stockport Labour councillor says he will withdraw his signature from a controversial Stop the War Coalition statement which accuses the UK of ‘sabre rattling’ over Ukraine.
Councillor Rory Leonard said he signed the letter - which also disputes NATO’s claim to being a ‘peace-keeping force - prior to the Russian invasion, when hopes were focused on a de-escalation of the crisis. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has taken a tough line on the issue, warning there would be ‘no place in the party for false equivalence between the actions of Russia and the actions of Nato’.
A total of 11 Labour MPs, including former frontbenchers John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, removed their names from the letter after being threatened with suspension by the party’s chief whip. Now Coun Leonard intends to do the same.
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“Given circumstances have changed in the situation, I’m happy to withdraw my signature while supporting some of the aims of the Stop the War Coalition,” he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The Stepping Hill councillor says he signed the letter around three or four weeks ago. "I think back then we were all hoping for de-escalation - no one wants to go to war - everyone was hoping for de-escalation and that was the motive of the Stop the War Coalition then,” he added.
“Now the situation has changed and it’s all about the Ukrainian people.”
What do you think about the letter? Let us know in the comments section
Coun Leonard says he had been a regular visitor to Stockport Ukrainian Club, which is providing an article for a ‘community edition’ of Labour's next ward newsletter, including details of how to make donations. “The Ukrainian people need help from Europe and are asking for help from NATO so I think now would be the complete wrong time to be calling for disarmament.
“Hopefully in future disarmament is something that will happen, but now is not the time.” Asked which aims of the Stop the War Coalition supported, he said ‘de-escalation and hopefully a non-nuclear world in future’.
Other notable signatories to the letter were former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who now sits as an independent MP, veteran journalist John Pilger and children's author Michael Rosen. Stop the War Coalition believes that Russia and Ukraine should reach a diplomatic settlement of the tensions between them, on the basis of the Minsk-2 agreement already signed by both states.
What Stockport Labour group says
A spokesperson for Stockport Labour group said: "All of us in the Labour movement seek a peaceful resolution to the war in Ukraine and wish to show our solidarity with the people of Ukraine following Vladimir Putin’s attack, an unprovoked and unjustifiable outrage that is having tragic consequences for Ukraine and its people.
"Here in Stockport we in the Labour group have been active in the relief effort and shall be meeting again outside the entrance to Merseyway this Saturday to collect funds and show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including family and friends living here in Stockport.
"At our next full council meeting, on March 31, leading representatives from the Stockport Ukrainian Cultural Centre and Club, and wider community have been invited to speak and we will show our collective support for them and hear more about the amazing work they are doing and the response from our wider community."
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