This is the spirit

My hunting rant, and in particular the aside about the paltry 9 hours debating time given to the invasion of Iraq got me thinking about how the Parliamentary system is being slyly circumvented by Mr Bliar as his style of government becomes more presidential and less consensual. Dodgy dossiers and half-truths shrouded by improvable ‘national security’ concerns have replaced genuine heart felt rhetoric. The great orators of the past Lord John Russell, C J Fox, Edmund Burke to name but a few, must look down (or up) and sigh with longing for the days when the House of Commons meant something real and tangible in the running of the nation.

Of course the greatest speaker in modern times must be Churchill. His speeches are available from many sources – I like The Churchill Society and The Churchill Centre. As an antidote to Bliar’s nonsensical ‘clear indications of the intent to restart weapons programmes’ or ‘The WMD are there – they are just hidden or were moved out of the country prior to the invasion’, have a read of this….

I am a child of the House of Commons. I was brought up in my father's house to believe in democracy. Trust the people - that was his message....I cannot help reflecting that if my father had been American and my mother British, instead of the other way around, I might have got here on my own....I owe my advancement entirely to the House of Commons, whose servant I am. In my country, as in yours, public men are proud to be the servants of the State and would be ashamed to be its masters.

from a speech made to a Joint Session of the American Congress, December 26, 1941 soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Politicians as servants of the state (meaning the people). How alien a concept is that to Mr Bliar? Two million people took to the streets of the UK on 15th February 2003 in order to protest at the coming invasion of Iraq. And he ignored us all. Now with an election approaching he has the audacity to talk about re-engaging the British public in political debate. The public, he believes, have become cynical with politicians. No sh1t Sherlock. And whose fault is that?

Possibly Churchill's famous speech was given in the Commons on 4th June 1940 after the Dunkirk rescue, as a shocked nation began to realise the scale of what was to come in a war which was just beginning

I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone. At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation. The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength. Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Doesn't that bring tears to the eyes even now? Doesn't it make you swell with pride? Isn’t that the passion and commitment we should demand from our leaders if they are to take us into a war?