Ugh...Tories
One needs only to listen to the Morrissey song "Irish Blood, English Heart" to get a lesson on those fools.
From what I've read on their respective websites, the Conservatives are fairly split on their support of the war, just as members of the Labour Party are (some in his cabinet resigned because of Blair's actions). Conservatives have also been very critical of how we went into the war in the first place, as well as Blair's (and Bush's) management of the conflict. Still, they have a very pro-military platform and would certainly not implement a "cut and run strategy."
Nevertheless, it is really an interesting spot for Republicans (and Democrats too, for that matter); a change in power would appear to many internationally to be a rejection of Blair's support of Bush in the Iraq war. The reality is though that both parties are campaigning more on domestic issues, where Republicans would be much more likely to support the Conservative Party (though I read somewhere that, gasp, they do not oppose gay marriage...can't confirm it though) and Democrats the Labour Party (or…).
There is a third major party out there, the Liberal Democrats (another Left-Center Party), who are campaigning hard on their continued opposition to the Iraq war. Major gains for them would bode badly for Bush, even though they too have committed to not withdrawing immediately.
It should be interesting to see how it all plays out, even from a purely academic perspective. I’ve posted the links below to the major party sites in case someone wants to check them out.
http://www.conservatives.com/
http://www.labour.org.uk/home
http://www.libdems.org.uk/
What's funny is liberal Democrat in the US is redundant nowadays, but it wasn't always like that. God Bless Joe Lieberman and Zell Miller!
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