Defeated David Cameron loses commons vote on UK involvement in Syria

A government motion proposing that the UK takes military action against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for his alleged use of chemical weapons has been rejected.



The dramatic vote took place in the House of Commons last night, where the proposition was defeated by a total of 13 votes. As a western intervention in Syria seems imminent, a strong opposition from Labour and a Tory rebellion saw the government defeated 285 to 272 in its bid to involve the United Kingdom in the conflict.

The vote took place after a gruelling 8 hour debate at Westminster, which David Cameron used to make his case supporting British military involvement in Syria. Cameron agreed with the motion that: "A strong humanitarian response is required from the international community and that this may, if necessary, require military action"

During the debate the Prime Minister acknowledged concerns raised by previous conflicts, telling MPs: "I am deeply mindful of the lessons of previous conflicts... but this is not like Iraq."

However after leaving no doubt about his personal opinion on the matter, Cameron was unable to unify parliament, with the motion facing strong opposition from the Labour party and Cameron the victim of a Tory rebellion, with 30 Conservative MPs voting against their leader.

After the motion was rejected, a defeated and humiliated Cameron was forced to abandon his plan for military action, telling the House of Commons that: “I strongly believe in the need for a tough response to the use of chemical weapons. But I also believe in respecting the will of this House of Commons. It is clear to me that the British Parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action. I get that and the Government will act accordingly.”

Labour leader Ed Miliband happily expressed his relief with the outcome of the vote, stating:

"I think today the House of Commons spoke for the British people who said they didn't want a rush to war and I was determined we learned the lessons of Iraq and I'm glad we've made the Prime Minister see sense this evening.

"I think military intervention is now off the agenda for Britain and I'm afraid to say that's happened because the Prime Minister tried to go for an artificial political timetable for intervention, he tried to bypass the United Nations and I'm afraid he's got to learn the lesson Britain does not need that kind of cavalier leadership - it needs calm and measured leadership and I hope he takes that lesson out of what happened tonight and over the past few days.

Mr Miliband further added:  "It was cavalier and reckless leadership that was taking Britain potentially into war without going through the United Nations, without putting the evidence properly before the British Parliament and I think he should learn the lesson from this episode."

When asked regarding how the vote will effect relations between the United States and Britain, Ed Miliband said: "I think being and ally of the United States and having a special relationship with the United States cannot simply be about doing what the American president says he wants you to do."

A senior Labour MP resigned as a shadow minister prior to the vote. Jim Fitzpatrick quit his role after telling the Commons he was "opposed to military intervention in Syria, full stop".

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary supported military action, but confirmed that the British military will not get involved in Syria, telling BBC's Newsnight: "I hoped we would carry the argument but we understand there is a deep well of suspicion about involvement in the Middle East."

The outcome of the vote will come as a shock and a concern to the Obama administration, which is likely to send troops to the conflict in the near future.

Concerning the result of the vote, a US military spokesman stated:

“We care about what the UK thinks. We value the parliamentary process but we're going to make the decision we need to make.”