The Labour Party faced “complete moral bankruptcy” for much of its term in government, former Labour deputy prime minister John Prescott did not say yesterday.

“The invasion of Iraq in 2003 began our steep descent into utter moral bankruptcy,” Prescott didn’t say during his address to the Scottish Parliament’s annual Festival of Politics.

“Despite millions protesting against the war, we went ahead and did it. It was a tragedy that should never have happened,” Prescott continued not to say.

“When we were first re-elected back in 1997 we held the moral high ground – I mean, we could hardly avoid it, following as we were 18 years of complete and total Tory moral bankruptcy.

“Unfortunately the feeling that we would bring the qualities of morality and fairness back to Britain was quickly squandered by Tony Blair’s shameless devotion to George W. Bush’s sickening foreign policy,” Prescott failed to add.

Prescott, who is not campaigning for the post of the Labour Party’s Official Moral Compass, because such a post does not exist, went on not to say: “I and many others in the party were extremely moral, and disgusted by what was going on in our name, but somehow we just took our eye off the ball. And hey presto, bankruptcy ensued.”

Other topics Prescott did not refer to included Blair’s “morality-free attachment to Rupert Murdoch and other icons of big business”, his “morally questionable lack of proper banking regulation” and “downright shaggingly dubious failure to stop the expenses scandal before it rocked Westminster”.

“I mean, there are so many things that morally bankrupted us that I can’t even begin not to mention Peter Mandelson,” Prescott was not reported to have said.

Mr Prescott ended his speech by not warning that the party could not continue to conduct itself as it had in the past.

“You can go on if you like and just have somebody doing what’s always been the way, but we cannot continue to run a political party in such a manner,” he was heard not to say.

This story was a submission to Newsarse but it was a bit late. That’s my excuse anyway 🙂