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CNN Live At Daybreak
England's Labor Party Conference Focuses on Iraq
Aired October 01, 2002 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we want to head to Robin Oakley, who is in Blackpool, England, where talk of a possible war is taking focus at the Labor Party Conference.
Robin -- what can you tell us?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SR. EUROPEAN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a big chance, Carol, for Tony Blair, facing his Labor Party Conference here in Blackpool.
He is having difficulty persuading both the British public and his own party that he should be fully engaged with George Bush in any potential attack on Iraq; 55 of his MPs rebelled, when the issue was debated in a recall -- a special emergency recall of the British Parliament last week.
Yesterday, they had two key votes on the issue of Iraq at this Labor Party Conference. And in one of those votes, although Tony Blair and his ministers won the day, 40 percent of the conference voted for a compromise resolution, which in effect said they didn't believe George Bush, they didn't accept Tony Blair's dossier of evidence saying that Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction, and they were against war.
But then, on a show of hands here at the conference, the conference did back a resolution, which effectively said that the authority of the United Nations has to be maintained, and that the delegates here would accept military force as a last resort, but only after all possible diplomatic means have been exhausted.
A key thing for Tony Blair, really, was that the conference hasn't actually tied his hands, because the motion that did pass in the end said that any military action should have the backing of the United Nations, and should be within international law. But it didn't say that it "must" have that backing, and that really, for Tony Blair and his ministers, was crucial.
Now, he'll still have a big persuasion job to do when he gets up in a few hours and talks to the delegates themselves -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, we'll have an update on that. Thank you, Robin Oakley, reporting from Blackpool, England this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 1, 2002 - 06:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Now, we want to head to Robin Oakley, who is in Blackpool, England, where talk of a possible war is taking focus at the Labor Party Conference.
Robin -- what can you tell us?
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN SR. EUROPEAN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a big chance, Carol, for Tony Blair, facing his Labor Party Conference here in Blackpool.
He is having difficulty persuading both the British public and his own party that he should be fully engaged with George Bush in any potential attack on Iraq; 55 of his MPs rebelled, when the issue was debated in a recall -- a special emergency recall of the British Parliament last week.
Yesterday, they had two key votes on the issue of Iraq at this Labor Party Conference. And in one of those votes, although Tony Blair and his ministers won the day, 40 percent of the conference voted for a compromise resolution, which in effect said they didn't believe George Bush, they didn't accept Tony Blair's dossier of evidence saying that Saddam Hussein had amassed weapons of mass destruction, and they were against war.
But then, on a show of hands here at the conference, the conference did back a resolution, which effectively said that the authority of the United Nations has to be maintained, and that the delegates here would accept military force as a last resort, but only after all possible diplomatic means have been exhausted.
A key thing for Tony Blair, really, was that the conference hasn't actually tied his hands, because the motion that did pass in the end said that any military action should have the backing of the United Nations, and should be within international law. But it didn't say that it "must" have that backing, and that really, for Tony Blair and his ministers, was crucial.
Now, he'll still have a big persuasion job to do when he gets up in a few hours and talks to the delegates themselves -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And of course, we'll have an update on that. Thank you, Robin Oakley, reporting from Blackpool, England this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
