On June 24th Tony Blair will hand over the mantel of leadership to Gordon Brown. In the lead-up to his coronation as new leader of the Labour Party and, by default, Prime Minister, Brown is holding a series of hustings around the country. The point of the exercise is to prove to the Labour Party rank and file that he is a worthy successor to Blair and to reaffirm his commitment to the policies and practices of New Labour.

Gordon Brown has made it clear that he will continue to stand “shoulder to shoulder” with the American government in the War on Terror. He has vowed to stay the course in Afghanistan and Iraq and refuses to commit to not attacking Iran. Paradoxically, while Brown plans to continue Blair’s blind support for the imperialist policies of the United States, the Labour Party will try to use the change of leadership to “draw a line under Iraq” and move on. We must not let them succeed.

One of the hustings will take place here in Oxford on Sunday, June 10th. We will be there to let Brown and the Labour Party know that we want a change of policy not just a change of leader. There can be no moving on so long as British troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, Britain maintains uncritical allegiance to American foreign policy initiatives, and Iran is under threat. We will be there to demand troops out now and a British foreign policy independent of Washington.

Join us on Sunday, June 10th to deliver a loud and clear anti-war message to Gordon Brown. Come with your signs and banners and be ready to make a bit of noise for peace and social justice. Numbers count so spread the word.

Although we expect to assemble around 11:30 a.m. on Pembroke Street, this could well change. The venue details have not yet been made public to deter the likes of us so watch this space. We will make further announcements as details become clear. Also come prepared to move from the assembly point to the venue, if need be. Further information from  oxford@stopwar.org.uk


Mike Bolton
Oxford Stop the War Coalition



Additional upcoming events:

June 9th: Enough! National Demonstration, End Israeli Occupation, Justice for Palestine. Assemble 13:30
 http://www.enoughoccupation.org/?lid=13692

June 24th: Sunday 24 June: Demonstrate in Manchester at special Labour Conference, Troops out of Iraq-Change Policy Not Just leader. Assemble Albert Square 12:00
 http://www.stopwar.org.uk