A FORMER councillor who left a Scottish Labour conference to march against the Iraq war in 2003 has encouraged party members to do the same for this weekend's protest for a ceasefire.
Alex Mosson, the former lord provost of Glasgow, said Scottish Labour figures should join protesters outside the party conference - but believes "they will all keep their head below the parapet”.
Labour member Mosson, who served as lord provost from 1999 until 2003, also shared how he and his wife were almost in tears when they heard about the death of six-year-old Hind Rajab.
“The wee girl that phoned trapped in the car in Gaza, wee Hind, they killed her," the former councillor said.
"They killed her cousin, and her aunt and uncle – plus the two ambulance drivers. I mean, if that’s not genocide, what is? That’s genocide in anybody’s language,” he shared.
READ MORE: Scottish doctor fundraising to evacuate family in Rafah
Mosson’s daughter Kirsteen moved the motion to twin Glasgow with Bethlehem in 2007, and his family regularly visit Palestine, with their last trip in September 2023 before the outbreak of war.
The 83-year-old gave his best wishes to the pro-ceasefire demonstrators as he reflected on Labour in Scotland in 2003 and the party now, as well as his time in anti-apartheid and anti-war actions.
Mosson was one of the tens of thousands of people who took to the streets of Glasgow to declare their opposition to war against Iraq when the Labour conference was held in 2003.
Glasgow's 2003 anti-war demonstration
In what was estimated by police at the time as the biggest protest in the city since the anti-poll tax demonstrations in 1990, protesters walked through the centre of the city before staging a rally outside the Scottish and Exhibition Conference Centre (SECC), the location of Labour's conference.
The march and rally are similar to the plans for this Saturday for the Scottish Labour conference, where thousands are expected to march from George Square to the same location in 2003.
Mosson walked with SNP MSP John Swinney and later, the pair spoke to the crowd against the stance of Labour party leader and prime minister Tony Blair.
Another familiar name marched that year, as a dentistry student at the University of Glasgow.
“It didn’t feel like the Labour party I joined,” current Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has previously said of the rhetoric of Blair.
Mosson, the first to address the crowd, said: "We are saying quite clearly, and we are the voice of the majority, that we don't want this war.
"If Tony Blair can't hear our voices from the SECC, then he will hear them in Downing Street."
When asked if he thought Scottish Labour would take similar steps to Scottish members of Labour in 2003, Mosson said: “To be quite honest with you, they should be [joining protesters] but I doubt it very much cause they’ll all keep their head below the parapet.
“It’ll be a very good turnout, but they won’t, no. The Labour hierarchy won’t come out to say anything or get involved at all.”
Mosson said that the battles the Labour-led council in Glasgow had at the time of Iraq were “between the left of centre and right of centre” members in Labour, with the Labour left leading in Glasgow.
“They weren’t hard right-wing and a lot of them were old-style. We all wanted what was best for Glasgow. Now, those right of centre couldn’t spell Labour if you asked them.”
“Keir Starmer used to be a human rights lawyer and now there’s mayhem in Rwanda and that’s where he doesn’t care if we send people on planes. They’ve not got a shred of humanity in their body.
“Things get twisted in politics. But we know that right is right and wrong is wrong.”
READ MORE: What's behind the disastrous poll decline for Labour and Keir Starmer?
Mosson was also one of the councillors in Glasgow responsible for the renaming of St George's Place to Nelson Mandela Place in 1986.
“We changed it because the South African consulate was there, and they had to change all their letter heads and notepaper to say Nelson Mandela’s Place - they were going mental, and we were loving it. It was great.
“When it was backed in the chamber in Glasgow, a message was sent to South Africa, and they banged on the tables – they loved it. They had been ignored by the world for so long, just like Palestine,” Mosson said.
Scottish Labour leader Sarwar, along with several members of his party in Scotland, have called for an immediate ceasefire and voted with MSPs on a Holyrood motion backing one in December 2023.
Sarwar has also accused Israel of a "clear breach" of international law in Gaza and said there is "no justification for the withholding of essential supplies" from the people of Gaza.
His comments came amid resignations within the party over Starmer's stance on the crisis who has insisted Israel has a right to defend itself within international law.
Sarwar has also called for Saturday’s protesters to be “peaceful” and insisted he “understands” the anger of those who want an end to the bombardment of Gaza. However, he went on the defensive for his boss and insisted that he would not listen to criticisms of Starmer as they came from political opponents.
A Scottish Labour motion calling for a ceasefire is up for debate on Saturday.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel