Does Yvette Cooper think Iraq war was a mistake? - Farron

Commenting on Ed Miliband's appointment of Yvette Cooper as Shadow Foreign Secretary, Co-Chair of the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Committee for International Affairs Tim Farron said:

"The illegal invasion of Iraq was the worst foreign policy mistake for generations, yet Ed Miliband's new shadow foreign secretary was an enthusiastic supporter.

"Her leader now claims Iraq was a mistake, does Yvette Cooper feel the same way?

"Ed Miliband claimed to represent a 'new generation', but his shadow cabinet looks very much like the New Labour establishment that came before it."

It is also worth noting:

Every single member of Ed Miliband's new shadow cabinet served in Gordon Brown's government.

Of the 19 members of the new shadow cabinet, 11 served as cabinet ministers under Brown, while the other eight held ministerial posts.

Miliband claimed his election heralded a new generation in Labour politics, but his shadow cabinet is made of the same New Labour politicians that spent recklessly and left the economy in tatters, stole our freedoms, left our political system in disgrace and failed to close the huge gap between the richest and the poorest.

Every member of the new shadow cabinet voted for ID cards.

Of the 14 who were MPs at the time, 12 voted for the invasion of Iraq.

Miliband himself was a key adviser to Brown in the Treasury, including chairing his Council of Economic Advisers, responsible for long-term economic planning. He was then parachuted into a safe seat and fast-tracked into the cabinet before writing Brown's election manifesto.