Nov 24, 2004
MPs call for Blair's impeachment
The BBC carries a new report on how twenty-three members have signed a Commons motion calling for the prime minister to be thrown from office for misleading Parliament over the case for invading Iraq. Predictably, the impeachment bid does not have the official support of the Conservative and Liberal Democrats, let alone backing from Labour backbenchers, so it is widely expected to fail and will probably not even be debated in the Commons. The last attempted impeachment was of the foreign secretary Lord Palmerston back in 1848, when it was alleged that Lord Palmerston, while foreign minister, had concluded a secret treaty with Russia.
In a separate move, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a fresh look at the prime minister's power to take the country to war without a vote of MPs. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy is tabling a House of Commons motion calling for a special select committee to be established to examine the issue. The government did put the decision to go to war in Iraq to a vote in Parliament, but was under no obligation to do so.
In a separate move, the Liberal Democrats are calling for a fresh look at the prime minister's power to take the country to war without a vote of MPs. Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy is tabling a House of Commons motion calling for a special select committee to be established to examine the issue. The government did put the decision to go to war in Iraq to a vote in Parliament, but was under no obligation to do so.