Dai Havard

Labour Party | Merthyr Tydfil & Rhymney

The Costs of Freedom and Democracy

During my election in 2,001 it was suggested that with the ‘Cold War’ over and a National Assembly established in Wales, all the ‘Big Questions’ had been answered and the job of a Member of Parliament was much diminished. That was wrong then and the three and a half years since have shown only too clearly that strong independently minded representatives in Westminster and the decisions we face are anything but diminished. From economic policy, civil liberties, the ethical affects of scientific developments, to questions of security, defence and foreign policy, which either support or damage millions of people if we get them wrong. These are just some of the issues we face in our healthy functioning democracy. The ability to conduct effective scrutiny of these and providing a service to constituents deserves intelligent consideration not ‘populist’ jibes.

Gordon Brown’s championing of the reduction in third world debt is not un-related to our own economic stability and investments for a more peaceful and secure future at home. We do not live in isolation and as an Internationalist I know that any narrow nationalist, separatist perspective and policies are illusory and dangerous. It is with sadness therefore that I watched the operation and outcome of the democratic processes in the USA. The Bush administration has some disastrous policies and programmes both domestically and internationally. The truth however is that the Bush regime and the Republicans now have a popular and constitutional mandate. Protectionism seems often to be the actual policy of many of these ‘free trade’ preachers, with an ‘aggressive’ and active foreign policy to quote Colin Powell. The debt of the US economy, sharp divisions on domestic policies, coupled with a perceived ‘self interest’ agenda abroad will be damaging for the world and we will see major challenges as a consequence, particularly for the UK.

As this month we remember all those who paid and still pay the highest price and sacrifice for democracy and freedom, for themselves and others, let us learn from them. We can not set our face against peoples even when we disagree with their governments and combat violent regimes and must continue to strive to find collective ways to live together not apart.