Press release: Lord Stoddart to chair Iraq war hustings

27th April 2005
No embargo

The question of Iraq is coming to centre stage in the last week of the election campaign, with the conservatives and Lib Dems questioning the Prime Minister's decision to take Britain to war. The Labour party argue that the decision to topple Saddam Hussein was justified, and the Prime Minister had to take that tough decision.

Swindon Stop the War Coalition has therefore organised hustings for Swindon's general election candidates for Tuesday 3rd May, at 7:30 pm at Steam in Kemble Drive. The meeting will be chaired by Lord Stoddart of Swindon. Former Labour whip David Stoddart, now Lord Stoddart, was Swindon's MP from 1970 to 1983. The meeting will allow members of the public to question the candidates on their attitude to the war, and towards the continued deployment of British troops in Iraq. But it will also allow a debate on how best to combat terrorism, and safeguard civil liberties.

Chair of the Swindon Coalition, Revd Sidney Hinkes said: "Obviously the general election will decide who forms the next government, and therefore voters will be considering other issues apart from the invasion of Iraq, and the subsequent occupation. Nevertheless the "war on terror" and the subsequent impact on civil liberties are defining issues of our age, and we would be very interested in the views of the candidates. We will be recommending that voters take into account the attitudes of candidates to the war when deciding who to vote for."

Secretary of the Coalition, Andy Newman added: "We are delighted that Lord Stoddart will be chairing the meeting. This is a very important issue and opinions are strongly and sincerely held on both sides. Lord Stoddart is very well respected in Swindon and his presence adds weight to the meeting".

The hustings meeting will be attended by:
North Swindon candidates: Michael Wills , Labour; Andy Newman , Socialist Unity; Robin Tingey , UK Independence Party.
South Swindon candidates: Robert Buckland , Conservative; Sue Stebbing , Liberal Democrat; Alan Hayward , independent; Bill Hughes , Green candidate. Other candidates are invited.

Swindon Stop the War Coalition enjoys support from across the political spectrum, and the organisers stress that they do not favour any party or parties in the election. Prominent local opponents of the war have included conservative councillor Michael Dickenson and former Liberal Democrat mayor, councillor Stan Pajak. The peace group has also organised public meetings in Swindon that have been addressed by Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Alan Simpson. Andy Newman of Socialist Unity is Secretary of Swindon Stop the War Coalition and Bill Hughes of the Green Party is Vice-Chairman.