over 100 uk mps to rebel against iraq war

London, Feb 22, IRNA -- Over 100 Labour MPs are expected to
demonstrate their opposition to a war against Iraq by refusing to
support next week's substantive motion in parliament on the British
government's policy.
But Prime Minister Tony Blair is still expected to win the vote
even though Liberal Democrats, Scottish and Welsh Nationalists and a
handful of Conservatives are also likely to abstain or oppose the
motion.
Next Wednesday's vote, announced by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
on Friday, is the first on the Iraq crisis since last November, when
85 MPs, including 32 Labour representatives, rebelled against the
government.
But according to anti-war campaigners, opposition to the war has
spread and includes not just the usual left-wing MPs and pacifists
but numbers of mainstream politicians.
"It is going to prove a huge embarrassment for Mr. Blair having
to depend upon the Conservatives to win support for the war," a
spokesman for Stop the War Coalition told IRNA.
Calculations are that up to 200 of the 659 MPs in the House of
Commons are likely to rebel against the motion by abstaining or
voting against.
The number includes the 53 Liberal Democrats, nine Scottish and
Welsh Nationalists and perhaps two dozen others, including some
Conservatives.
"Support from the majority of the 153 Conservative MPs is crucial;
if they voted against, the government would be defeated," the
spokesman said.
An Early Day Motion to parliament last week, setting four
preconditions for a war to be met, including an explicit second UN
resolution and exhausting all other options, received all-party
support from 120 MPs.
A separate petition criticizing the government for not seeking
prior approval from the House of Commons for military action was
signed by 75 MPs.
One of the major concerns emerging is on the effect of the morale
of British troops being sent into action without public support as
was demonstrated by the 1.5 million people who joined last weekend's
biggest-ever peace rally in London.