Whenever Labour has been divided, foreign policy has been a defining faultine. In 1935, pacifist leader George Lansbury was forced to resign over his opposition to rearmament and to sanctions against fascist Italy (the Transport and General Workers’ Union leader and future foreign secretary Ernest Bevin accusing him of “hawking your conscience round from body to body asking to be told what to do with it”). In 1981, Michael Foot’s support for withdrawal from the European Economic Community triggered the formation of the breakaway Social Democratic Party. In 2003, 139 Labour MPs voted against the invasion of Iraq, a decision which still haunts the party. In 2006, it was Tony Blair’s support for Israel’s Lebanon assault which forced him to pre-announce his resignation.
Today, it is foreign and defence policy which once again divides a Labour leader and his MPs. While unity can be found on economic and social issues, the differences in these areas are unbridgeable. Corbyn is a lifelong supporter of unilateral nuclear disarmament and has said he cannot currently think of “any circumstances” in which he would favour the deployment of armed forces. With no less fervour, others are resolutely committed to the renewal of Trident and to military action against Isis, stances which they argue stand in the best Labour traditions.
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