Labour reformers toyed with the image of democratic participation without realising what it would actually lead to – a democratic debate. But the next step is not to backpedal against democracy.
Iraq’s supposedly sky-high child mortality rate was a key part of Blair’s case for war, and he was still making it years later – but it seems to have been based on a single dubious study.
Intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction was a core part of the case for war. The Chilcot Report has examined how it came to be so distorted.
The Iraq Inquiry has found that the case for invading Iraq was far from watertight and made without proper care. Deception, however, is another matter.
The populist appeal of simplistic answers to complex solutions is a challenge for political leaders.There are times when expertise and experience must prevail over the popular mood of the moment.
Behind the parochial media focus on the political manoeuvring within a divided Conservative Party, national decisions don’t get much more important than the UK’s referendum on its EU membership.