Davey did NOT oppose war says official record

5.00.00pm GMT Wed 16th Mar 2005

The Liberal Democrats at the march against the war in Iraq in February 2003

Research by the Liberal Democrats has confirmed that Bristol West Labour MP Valerie Davey DID NOT oppose the war in Iraq, as she has claimed in her leaflets and in person on many occasions.

The Hansard parliamentary record captures all the debates in the House of Commons, including which MPs voted for and against particular policies. This is available on the web for any voter to look at (http://www.parliament.uk/hansard/hansard.cfm) to check what their MP has actually said and done. The Iraq debate in question took place on 18th March 2003.

Click on the link below to be taken to the list of MPs voting for (AYES) and against (NOES) Tony Blair's proposal to approve military action. This is known as Division 118. Those against include the Liberal Democrats, a substantial number of Labour rebels and even a few Tories.

Specifically, this asserts that Britain "should use all means necessary to ensure the disarmament of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction" - this is parliamentary-speak for declaring war. Valerie Davey's name appears in neither list, which means that she DID NOT VOTE at all in the most crucial debate of the last four years!

Prospective Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams, says, "This clears up for once and for all what Davey's stance on Iraq really was. It's now time for her to come clean and admit to voters that she did not oppose military action and that she sat on the fence for the crucial decision. Voters should remember that the Liberal Democrats consistently opposed the war in Iraq and I would have had no hesitation in voting against if I had been Bristol West's MP at the time."

"If voters have a look elsewhere in Hansard, they will find that she also failed to vote on the issue of student tuition fees (after promising that she would oppose them) and on the government's plans to introduce a two-tier NHS system where hospitals compete for resources - a plan slammed by the British Medical Association."

Related Link:

Click here to see the list of MPs voting for and against the war in Iraq.