Plaid's Faslane critics
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Labour blogger Rob Newman, research assistant to Julie Morgan MP, has hit out at Plaid Cymru for 'infringing on the rights of Scottish people to be protected by police in their communities'.
He cites a Daily Record article which details the weakening of police resources in parts of Scotland in order to deal with the stream of protests against Trident at the Faslane Naval base.
And who does Rob blame for the soaring costs of policing in Scotland? None other than Plaid's Leanne Wood AM, arrested at the scene on Monday, together with a clutch of politicians from Scotland and abroad.
Rob concludes that "the right to protest should be exercised responsibly and not abused," thus opening a can of worms to munch upon while he ponders the question: who decides what constitutes an 'abuse'?
It is surely a subjective assessment. The million-strong Iraq protest in London must have guzzled pretty greedily from the local policing pot - was that irresponsible too?
As with most protests on issues of great significance, it is the eventual justice or injustice of the cause which determines whether opposition - via direction action or otherwise - was 'worth it'. Of course, the Trident debate is split down the middle, and even if Britain were hit by a nucelar bomb tomorrow, those arguing in favour of a deterrent would be just as numerous as those arguing againt (if they were still alive, that is). But at least that's a debate centering upon the issue, and that is, after all, what most of the protesters seem to want.
Labels: Faslane, Labour, Leanne Wood, Plaid Cymru, Police, Rob Newman, Scotland, trident
posted by Blamerbell @ 5:56 pm,
