It's not like me to be nice about Labour MPs, but credit where it's due, Eric Joyce deserves it today for speaking out in a Scotland on Sunday article against the MOD's action to limit compensation settlements to injured soldiers which I wrote about earlier this week.
I think he deserves our respect for standing up for his beliefs on this and for someone who has never, ever (despite what his They Work for You record might say), in 8 years, voted against the Government, this is a major step for him to take.
In his article, Joyce argues that the MOD might well be technically right, but it's morally wrong. He said:
"In this compensation case, a victory for the MoD in October at the Court of Appeal would come against the backdrop of a giant neon sign saying spelling out the word 'Pyrrhic'. It would represent a victory for bureaucracy over bravery. The appeal should be dropped."
On this issue, I think he's got it right, and I hope his boss, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, listens to him.
5 comments:
The question might be, what does he do if Brown & Ainsworth don't change their minds?
Should he resign?
Has he really got the courage of his convictions or is he simply playing for popular votes.
To be honest, if he has those opinions and can articulate them at the heart of the Government, and make the case for change, then it's probably best that he stays.
The position he holds is not a paid one, he's PPS to Ainsworth. It'll be interesting to see whether they sack him.
I was going to do a post on this Caron but thought I just might lose the will to live half way through.
Ex major Joyce doesn't do ANYTHING without his superiors approval.
This outburst will have been signed off by the powers that be.
I did actually write a paragraph along the lines of "is this article by the ultra loyal Joyce a device to bring about what's already been decided in Whitehall, another bit of Labour spin?" but I deleted it because I thought it was maybe not fair and we should just take it at face value.
In the end of the day, if it means that the Government backs down and these men get the compensation they deserve, then why not just go with it?
what ompensation when my husband died 2004 of natural causes i am a war widow and his name is in Stafford War Memorial my children lost their dad we got nothing
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