Money For War But Not For Health - Teather

10.14.58am GMT Mon 4th Jun 2007

Sarah has consistently opposed the war in Iraq

Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East, Sarah Teather, has used a live television debate to speak up for Brent health services. Sarah criticised Gordon Brown for finding money for war in Iraq but not for healthcare in Brent.

So far the war in Iraq has cost the British taxpayer £5billion. 134 British soldiers have lost their lives and hundreds have been wounded or maimed 34,452 Iraqi civilians died in 2006. An estimated 50,000 Iraqis have died since the war began

Brent NHS is facing a crippling deficit of £17.6 million, and is being forced to make massive cuts to local services. Local campaigners agree that these will impact on some of the most vulnerable people in Brent.

Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather said:

"It is shameful that Gordon Brown found £5billion to fund an illegal war in Iraq, yet he can't find the money that our health service so desperately needs. Vulnerable people in Brent are paying for this Government's irresponsible policies.

"Our misadventure in Iraq has cost an obscene amount of money. Even worse, the human cost, to both Iraqi civilians and our own men and women, has been devastating.

"It is time to bring our troops home. A phased withdrawal should start right away. We have done enough damage in Iraq, and our continued presence is making a depressing situation even worse."

Sarah Teather appeared on BBC1's Question Time on 31st May 2007. In response to a question on Gordon Brown's policy on Iraq, Sarah said:

"I think we should bring the troops home."

[Applause]

"In my view we should never have gone into Iraq in the first place. Certainly if you are going to go into Iraq you can't go into a country like that and then not plan for the reconstruction, which is quite clearly what the US and the UK did.

"We've made a terrible mess of it. We've spent £5billion on that war in Iraq, £2.4million a day, at the same time as, certainly in my constituency - I don't know if it's happening here in Stratford - but in my constituency there are vast cuts to our health service affecting some of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. We say we can't afford to put that money into the health service, and yet we are prepared to pour that money into Iraq."

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Question Time.