Mass protest fails to shake Blair's resolve

Over the weekend, in what has been touted as the world’s largest demonstration, an estimated ten million people took part in 600 peace rallies in 60 countries around the globe.

In Berlin, Paris, Dublin, Rome, Sydney, New York, Copenhagen, Damascus, Glasgow and Johannesburg protesters took to the streets to demonstrate their opposition to US plans for war against Iraq.

In Britain, central London was brought to a standstill as 750,000 people wound their way through Piccadilly Circus to join thousands more gathered in Hyde Park in what was the biggest public protest in British history.

In Glasgow, up to 90,000 people marched to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre where Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, had been addressing Labour’s spring conference.

There were familiar faces among the protest placards with members of CND, union representatives and activists from the Socialist Workers Party well to the fore.

In Glasgow, Tommy Sheridan, leader of the Scottish Socialist Alliance and George Galloway, the veteran anti-war protester and Labour MP, were also clearly to be seen - but this was more than just a protest of the usual suspects.

This was a demonstration of more than a million people drawn from all parts of the United Kingdom, from middle England to the housing estates of the inner cities.

And among those urging Mr Blair not to go to war in their name were nuns, celebrities, lawyers, politicians, war veterans, teachers, Conservative councillors and young Muslims.

Forty years ago in the US, the mass demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and the often violent methods of controlling them changed the public perception of the conflict and eventually forced the political leadership to withdraw. There were many on the current marches who insisted the current Stop the War Coalition could have a similar effect.

Bill Morris, the Unison trade union leader, warned that the anti-war movement could galvanise public opinion against the Prime Minister, drawing on the similarities with the 1960s. He said: "The anti-war movement could be significant. We all know what happened with the Vietnam war in the US."

Mo Mowlam, the former Labour minister, added: "Things can only get better if we stick together. Keep it peaceful. Because being peaceful, people will have no excuse not to listen."

While the unprecedented outpouring of opposition to a war on Iraq would have been deeply concerning to Mr Blair, who knows his job is threatened if he cannot convince the public of the need for conflict, the early signs are that ministers are resolute in their determination to topple Saddam Hussein.

Behind such placatory words as Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott’s acknowledgement that war is an "ugly, costly, dehumanising scar on the human existence", Labour is sticking to its guns.

Mr Blair himself issued a pre-emptive strike in the hours before the march, warning the anti-war protesters that they would have blood on their hands if they succeeded in stopping action to depose Saddam.

Setting out the moral case for military action, he went on to stress that "ridding the world of Saddam would be an act of humanity".

"The moral case against war has a moral answer. It is the moral case for removing Saddam. I do not seek unpopularity as some badge of honour, but sometimes it is the price of leadership," he added.

In the immediate aftermath of the march, senior Cabinet members rallied behind Mr Blair over his stance on Iraq, urging Labour activists and the wider public to trust his judgement as he seeks to disarm Saddam Hussein.

In a speech which closed the three-day Labour conference, Mr Prescott told delegates that Mr Blair had been right about the need for military intervention in Sierra Leone, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

The moral case for war was also championed by Dr John Reid, the Labour Party chairman. Dr Reid promised the government would "listen" to the voices of protesters, but stressed that the moral choice was not between war and peace, but between doing something and doing nothing.