On Monday, Europhile Labour MP, Denis MacShane asked Gordon Brown in the House of Commons: “Does he share my dismay that when the issue [tough stance on Russia] was fought out at the Council of Europe the other week, the Russians’ closest collaborators and fellow travellers in the debate were UK delegates from the Conservative party?”
First, the interesting observation is that Gordon Brown did not answer the question, indicating he did not share MacShane’s opinions or his dismay. On the other hand, the worst that the Conservatives have done is to sit with Putin’s centre right United Russia in the Council (hardly a crime, the bloke does still run Russia).
Second, it is completely incorrect for Denis MacShane to argue this case. Let me tell you why. It is the Labour Party, not the Conservative Party, which has allied itself with some of Russia’s most unpleasant representatives in the Council of Europe. We generated some interest from a number of journalists and politicians last month in our Party Conference edition of The European Journal when Russian analyst, Carl Thomson reported on the Council of Europe – stating that whilst Conservatives sit with Putin’s centre right United Russia in the Council, the Labour Party, by contrast, “has allied itself with a party led by a man who is not averse to using his fists to resolve political disputes, and a group which was shut down for having views too nationalistic even for the Kremlin’s taste.”
To my mind, the evidence is available here for all to see and does indeed show that Labour sit with members from Russia’s “Liberal Democratic” party as stated in the article. I do not see what further remarks I can make on this matter to any other Labour MP, given their own problems in their own socialist political grouping within the Council of Europe.
