PETERBOROUGH LABOUR PARTY

Peterborough Conservatives secretly backing Israeli Military

Conservative Party Councillors have been accused of secrecy over their backing of the Israeli War machine at last nights full council meeting.

A motion put before council by Cllr Nazim Khan and backed by the majority of Muslim councillors was mysteriously amended and the motion for the Peterborough council to call on the British Government to ends arms sales to the Israeli military was blocked by conservative councillors who voted for an amendment to the motion which was not made available to the press and public.

This has followed a period of controversial politics in Peterborough, a city with a large diverse population which has raised tens of thousands of pounds for aid to Gaza over recent months; many local people have also joined the Campaign Against Arms Trade in a call to stop arming Israel. A recent rally attracted hundreds of demonstrators and was addressed by the European MEP Richard Howitt who leads on international matters. Over one weekend a petition of over 500 was signed by residents to be put to the council who refused to accept it and blocked it being presented at last night council.

Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Peterborough Ed Murphy is calling for the conservative administration to come clean over their bypartisan support for the Israel Military.

Last night there was a motion calling for the Peterborough council to ask the Government to end all arms sales to Israel and condemning those who condoned the spilling of innocent blood. I am concerned that the Conservatives secretly changed the motion before the council and have taken sides with the Israeli Military over the disproportionate use of force – a war crime. They also tried to do this in a manner so as it would be unreported as the public and press have not been given details of what councillors voted on at yesterdays meeting. Indeed it is the first time I have ever witnessed councillors voting on a proposal, motion or amendment that has not bee made available to journalists covering the meeting, I believe by law what council was voting on should have at least been read out.

Over recent years the Peterborough Conservatives have run the council like some second rate shoddy business financed by attempts to flog off our green spaces and allotments to friendly developers, meanwhile they have not balanced the books as revenue expenditure has exceeded income month after month. Last night they hit a new low when they attempted to make a controversial political decisions in secret, backing the Israeli war machine. Such extreme and provocative politics from our conservative councillors brings shame to the whole city and is a serious risk to community cohesion – the council should not be taking sides and backing the Israeli States Military Machine. They should have joined with the many local residents in petitioning the council, condemning violence and arms sales.