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Caroline Raine contributed this report of NOW's long-awaited
meeting with our MP for East Oxford
(published to NOW website 09.09.2005)
9) Meeting with Andrew
and Val Smith, 3 September 2005
Having a long history of correspondence with Oxford East MP, Andrew Smith,
on a range of issues of concern to NOW members, we were delighted when he, together
with his wife, County Councillor Val Smith, agreed to meet with us.
At a well-attended meeting we asked Andrew and Val questions on key issues.
Iraq and terrorism
We reminded Andrew that before the Iraq war NOW had urged him to oppose it,
in part because there was no evidence of weapons of mass destruction and in
part because of fears that instead of tackling terrorism such a war would make
the UK a more likely target. Andrew however had remained adamant that there
were weapons of mass destruction and he did not agree with our arguments about
terrorism. We asked him what his thoughts were now, in the light of experience.
Andrew made clear that "I don't regret the fact we invaded Iraq" and
said it was justified by the demise of Saddam Hussein and moves towards democracy.
He agreed that Parliament's decision to go to war had been based on misinformation
but said it was nevertheless done in good faith. He felt that even if there
was a connection with the war in the minds of some "would-be terrorists"
this should not stop us carrying out the "right" foreign policy. He
pointed out that the attacks on New York had taken place before the Iraq or
Afghanistan wars and blamed "fundamentalist extreme-brand Islam".
He said it was our liberal values and alliance with the US that made us a likely
target . He did acknowledge that there had been a failure of planning for a
post war Iraq. It was pointed out to Andrew that the US was certainly not suited
to a policing role given its own abuses e.g. the use of chemical weapons in
Vietnam.
Palestine
On Palestine Andrew spoke about the need for "even-handedness". He
was asked how far the government was aware that the pull-out from Gaza was just
a cover for expansion in the West Bank. He said this was disturbing and asked
for more information so that he could pursue the issue. He condemned the expansion
on the West Bank and said that such expansion must stop for there to be a lasting
peace. He was sure the government agreed with him on that. He was clear however
that irrespective of this the Gaza withdrawal should be welcomed as a sign that
Israel was willing to confront the settlers. He was asked what actions the UK
government would take to turn words into action on this issue. He said that the
government had a commitment to calling for the peace process to start; however
Europe had very little influence on Israel. It was the US which had the influence
and Andrew said that Tony Blair kept trying to get the peace issue back on President
Bush's agenda.
Nuclear Weapons
Asked whether the government was going to replace Trident, Andrew expressed
the belief that no decision had been taken or would be taken without a debate
in Parliament first. It was pointed out that activity at Aldermaston implied that
preparation was being made for replacement of Trident, and there were particular
concerns about a new generation of small nuclear weapons. Andrew said he found
the idea of making more easy-to-use nuclear weapons very dangerous and was not
sure who we were defending ourselves against by having nuclear weapons. He agreed
to look into this further.
Declaration of War Bill
Andrew expressed support for Claire Short's Declaration of War Bill which requires
parliament to be consulted before any war situation. He agreed that more decisions
should be made with parliamentary authority and fewer with Tony Blair's use of
the royal prerogative.
ASBOs
Concern was expressed about the inappropriate use of ASBOs. Val was very much
in favour of ASBOs and said that in Blackbird Leys they had been found to work
and were a popular measure. It was pointed out to Val that ASBOs may not help
street drinkers and that plastering their photos everywhere could make them a
target to the very people ASBOs were designed to restrain. Val acknowledged this
may be the case and said that ASBOs should be accompanied by support measures.
Andrew agreed that ASBOs should not be seen as a solution on their own but as
a part of it.
Corporate structure of County Council
Val welcomed concern about the corporate nature of the County Council now under
Tory control and the lack of democracy now operating. She said the Tories had
taken all key positions on the Council and that the only way Labour politicians
could participate was through motions and questions to the full council. She
suggested NOW members attend council meetings and ask questions via their councillors.
Also members of the public had the right to make comments at cabinet meetings.
Asylum Seekers
The longest discussion took place on this issue. NOW members criticised many
aspects of asylum policy in particular forced returns to unsafe countries, upheaval
to families who had made their lives here, lack of legal support, conditions in
detention and removal centres, withdrawal of benefits and policies which appealed
to racists and xenophobes whilst ignoring human rights. Despite numerous examples
referred to by NOW members, Andrew was generally unprepared to acknowledge faults
in the asylum system. Instead of changing the asylum system he favoured a more
liberal immigration policy. He would hope some whose applications for asylum had
been refused would apply for immigration when they returned to their countries
of origin. It was pointed out that many would never have the opportunity to do
this because of the imprisonment or even death they faced on returning. It was
also pointed out that unskilled workers should have rights just as much as those
with the skills we needed, and that we should not be poaching skilled workers
from countries where they were desperately needed. Andrew agreed that these issues
were problematic but that they could be dealt with more imaginatively e.g. by
operating reciprocal arrangements. He hoped that our policies on debt relief would
reduce the numbers of those driven to come by economic need. Andrew did agree
to pursue the question of funding and availability of legal representation for
asylum seekers but his general approach was that the government had to balance
public concern for asylum seekers and those who think the system is too "soft".
It was pointed out to Andrew that there was a group of refugees desperate to be
returned to their homeland if only they could i.e. the Palestinians.
The broad range of discussion topics meant that it was not possible to have
in-depth discussion on any one of them. However we were pleased when Andrew
offered to return in six months to consider other issues but also to provide
an update on those we had raised on this occasion. Val was asked to keep in
touch with NOW on county council issues and she was invited to participate in
Women in Black vigils.
The meeting highlighted the broad range of knowledge and expertise shared by
NOW members and it is welcome that key local politicians have recognised the
value of a dialogue with us.
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