Speech to Trafalgar Square anti-war rally on 18 November 2001.

Friends, comrades, what a brilliant turnout. I bring greetings from the National Executive of the University and College lecturers union, NATFHE.

We were one of the first unions to oppose the war preparations and to oppose the bombing in Afghanistan. We were joined early on by the railway unions ASLEF, RMT, and I’m pleased to see that the support is growing against the war, in the unions.

We’ve seen the CWU calling for a stop to the bombing. The Scottish TUC calling for an end to the bombing. UNISON Black Members’ Conference call for an end to the bombing.

And we’re asking all the other unions “Come off the fence now”. [cheers].

Tony Blair urges us to remember September the 11th, and says this is why we are bombing Afghanistan. There is no-one here who supported the massacre on the 11th of September. But remembering the 11th of September gives no excuse, and does not justify the bombing of a country ground down by 22 years of war.

They tell us we are fighting for democracy against terrorism, that we have to carpet-bomb one of the poorest countries in the world, drop cluster bombs, release daisy cutters, displace millions of people from their homes, support gangsters and rapists and drug-runners to achieve this. Well I am not part of that “we”. Nor are any of you part of that “we”. This war is not in our name. [cheering].

Getting rid of the Taliban does not deal with terrorism or with the causes of terrorism. Bush and Blair’s war has created more refugees, giving ground to a whole new generation of terrorists, made this country a target for terrorism.

At home, it’s led to racist attacks, particularly attacks on Muslims, a tightening of restrictions on refugees, internment, secret trials, and the suspension of the Human Rights Act. All in the name of democracy.

At the Labour Party conference in his “I vow to thee my country” speech, Tony Blair said “Let us re-order this world”. I think we tried that, we’ll we didn’t, that was tried before. It was called The British Empire. Many of its villains are celebrated on statues around here

Just over there you have Major General Sir Henry Havelock who put down the Indian Uprising in 1857 [booing]. A genuine socialist government would establish a statue to commemorate the unknown collateral damage victim. [cheering].

Before Blair starts re-ordering this world, he could try putting things right at home. The money spent on bombs should go on Education, Health, Transport, and Public Services [cheering].

We hoped that a second Labour Government with a massive majority would do this. We were told that Gordon Brown had a War Chest. Now we may have been naive, but we didn’t expect that War Chest to be spent a War!

We’re beginning to appreciate exactly where we stand with this Government. They always let you down.

As one person wrote to The Guardian, even Mussolini tried to get the get the trains to run on time before he invaded Ethiopia.

The supporters of the war say “well what would you do?”

Firstly, sort out Israel [cheering]. Get them to abide by the UN Resolutions and withdraw from the Occupied Territories. [cheering].

Secondly, recognise a new democratic state in Palestine. [cheering].

Thirdly, give massive aid to the people of Palestine to reconstruct their homeland. [cheering].

Fourthly, support the democratisation of the semi-feudal states, the semi-feudal Arab states. Women’s rights, Tony Blair, are as important in Saudi Arabia as they are in Afghanistan. [cheering].

And fifthly, stop the bombing and send massive aid to the people of Afghanistan. [cheering].

Now that’s the sort of foreign policy that would put an end to terrorism, and the causes of terrorism. [cheers]

This war is about oil, it’s about control of the world, it’s about assertion of US power around the world.

Thank you for coming today. The world needs to know that this war is not in our name. Stop the War now. [cheering].