Terry Waite, who the Totnes Times billed as Britain’s Most Famous Hostage, was at a social justice dinner in Dartington when he condemned the failures of the government over the Iraq War, banking crisis and MPs’ expenses.
According to the Totnes Times, he also confirmed he was considering standing as an Independent in the next General Election.
Talking about the government, Terry said: ‘They have failed us. They have failed us by taking us into a war in Iraq, which we should never have gone into, they failed us with the financial authorities who should have been better regulators and they haven’t been.’
And of the Parliamentary whipping system?
‘What sort of democracy is that? It’s rubbish, absolute nonsense. They are not representing their constituents, they are safeguarding their own interests. And I’m sorry I’ve got to the stage in life when I am not going to be quiet about it any longer. One can be diplomatic for far too long.’
He was in Totnes promoting his Emmaus homeless charity, which brings together small groups of alcoholics and addicts to dip out of state support and work according to their capacity. The first was opened in Cambridge in 1992, there are 19 community in the UK, with a further 15 planned.
It was his experience of severe deprivation as a hostage in Lebanon that had motivated him to carry out his unpaid work with the homeless through Emmaus, says the paper.
• Is Terry right about the Government? Should he stand? And will Totnes get its own Emmaus branch? Comments below, please.
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I really hope Terry Waite will stand at the next election and better still if he does it in my Bury St Edmunds constituency. We desperately need an MP of his calibre, where honesty, intelligence,compassion and an ability to listen are the qualities we expect of our elected members.