Holding a different view is allowed

HINDSIGHT is a great thing and Ruth Marr is right: there were no weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq at the time of the 2003 invasion (Topic of the week, Letters, April 7). I wasn’t impressed either by the dodgy dossier, but in common with many others, some of whom now conveniently choose to forget it, I thought it likely that Saddam Hussein had some WMDs, or at least the capability to rapidly produce them. Marr is also right that Iraq has been through a dreadful 10 years since the war – but progress is being made.

Marr criticises Tony Blair for i gnoring those who protested against the war. However, he submitted himself to the judgment of the people at the General Election of 2005, and led Labour to victory. That suggests people judged him and his party in the round, and accepted there are always going to be areas where we disagree. Reaching a different judgment on an issue doesn’t make somebody a liar. Doug Maughan Dunblane “Labour is back as the party opposing ‘Tory cuts’, highlighting the cruel consequences of the Conservative policies on welfare and representing the disadvantaged and vulnerable ... The issue isn’t ... whether we believe in social justice. The issue is how progressive politics fulfils that mission as times, conditions and objective realities change around us.” Former PM Tony Blair warns Labour not to lurch to the left “I take Tony Blair very seriously, but I think what Labour is doing under my leadership is moving forward. I’m leading in my own way. That’s what is most important.” Labour leader Ed Miliband “At some point before the election, [Miliband] will need to decide where he really stands … Liberated from office, Blair enjoys the luxury of posing questions without answering them but Miliband does not. And once he begins to set out his stall, Labour unity could quickly begin to fray.” George Eaton, New Statesman “In 2015, we might look back on these last few weeks as the moment we lost the election. We should listen to Blair. We have been warned.”