Vote on Syria airstrikes.
On Wednesday 2 December, the UK Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of the UK taking part in airstrikes against ISIS in Syria. The vote followied a ten and a half hour debate. You can read the debate in full here. Some key moments from the debate can be found here. It can be watched in full here.
397 Members of Parliament voted in favour of airstrikes, whilst 223 voted against. A full list of how MPs voted can be found here.
- 315 Conservative MPs voted in favour of airstrikes, 7 against.
- 66 Labour MPs voted in favour of airstrikes, 153 against.
- 16 members of the Shadow Cabinet voted against airstrikes, 11 voted in favour. There was one abstention.
- 54 SNP members and 2 who have withdrawn from the whip, voted against airstrikes.
- Out of 59 MPs in Scotland, 57 voted against airstrikes.
- All of the 8 DUP MPs voted in favour of airstrikes, as did 2 UUP MPs, an Independent MP, and UKIP's sole MP.
- 6 Liberal Democrat MPs voted for the airstrikes, 2 voted against.
- 3 Plaid Cymru MPs, 3 SDLP MPs and the Green Party's sole MP voted against airstrikes.
On Tuesday 1 December, the Government published a 236 word motion for the vote, which describes ISIS as an “unprecedented” and “direct threat.” See Caabu’s paper ahead of the vote. There is also an ammendment put down by John Baron MP arguing that the case for strikes has not been made.
The view from the Prime Minister, David Cameron
Addressing Parliament on 2 December, Cameron called on MPs to "answer the call from our allies" and take action against the "woman-raping, Muslim-murdering, medieval monsters" of IS, who he warned were "plotting to kill us and to radicalise our children right now".
He said MPs faced a simple question: "Do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat and do we go after these terrorists in their heartlands from where they are plotting to kill British people, or do we sit back and wait for them to attack us?"
Cameron's speech can be read in full here.
The view from the Foreign Secretary, Phillip Hammond
To conclude the debate in the House of Commons, Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond said:
"The decision tonight is this: do we take the fight to them, or do we wait for them to bring the fight to us? Do we strike them in Syria, or do we wait for them to strike us on the streets of London? What kind of country would we be if we refused to act in the face of a threat to our security as clear as the one that ISIL poses? Indeed, what kind of country would we be if we were unmoved by the murder, the rape, the beheadings and the slavery that ISIL imposes on its subjects? And what kind of country would we be if we ignored the calls for help from our nearest neighbours even as they grieve for their dead? We cannot contract out the responsibility for our national security. We cannot rely on others to take actions to protect our citizens that we are not willing to take ourselves.
The threat is clear. Our ability to respond to it is undoubted. The moral imperative to act is compelling. The legal case to do so is watertight. We do not propose military action lightly and we do not propose it in isolation. We will vigorously pursue the Vienna process to ceasefire, transition and a new representative Government in Syria. We will lead the international community in planning and delivering post-conflict reconstruction. Let us tonight give a clear and simple message to our allies, to the enemy and to our brave armed forces, who we are asking to do the job for us. Let us show beyond doubt what kind of a country we are by endorsing decisively the motion before us this evening."
After the result of the vote was announced, Hammond said that that Britain was "safer" after the decision.
"Britain is safer tonight because of the decision that the House of Commons has taken," said Mr Hammond.
"Military strikes alone won't solve the problem in Syria, won't keep Britain safe from Daesh, but doing those military strikes, alongside the political action, alongside the humanitarian action, is the right thing to do and it's the right way to keep Britain safe."
The view from the Defence Secretary, Michael Fallon
The Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has already confrimed that the UK has hit ISIS targets in Syria. Speaking to the BBC on 3 December he said:
"They've been able to attack these terrorists on one side of the border, now they are free to attack some of their key targets on the other side of the border as well. I approved a series of targets in the Omar oil fields from which the oil production is derived, this helps to finance Daesh [Isis]."
He also said that the bombing campaign against ISIS would last for "at least" three years.
Comments from Fallon prior to the vote
Syria vote: Michael Fallon says UK already an IS target
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34973637
Syria air strikes: Not enough votes yet, says Fallon
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34956795
Fallon: 'Urgent need' for airstrikes in Syria to protect UK
http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-12-01/fallon-urgent-need-for-airstrikes-in-syria-to-protect-uk/
Syria air strikes: Isis-inspired terror attacks have increased tenfold in 2015, says Michael Fallon
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/syria-air-strikes-isis-inspired-terror-attacks-have-increased-tenfold-in-2015-says-michael-fallon-a6755711.html
The view from the leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn
In response to Parliament voting for airstrikes against ISIS in Syria, Corbyn reiterated that "Cameron's case was not convincing, lacking either credible ground troops or a plan for a diplomatic settlement". He also writes:
"Since he first made his case for airstrikes in Syria, last Thursday, opposition has mounted; in the country, in parliament and in the Labour Party.
It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the Prime Minister realised opposition to his ill thought-out rush to war was growing – and he needed to hold the vote before it slipped from his hands. I have argued, and will continue to do so, that we should re-double our efforts to secure a diplomatic and political end to the conflict in Syria.
British service men and women will now be in harm’s way and the loss of innocent lives is sadly almost inevitable."
In the debate, Corbyn said that the decision to vote for against strikes was one which had "potentially far-reaching consequences" and that the PM's case didn't "stack up". Ahead of the vote, Corbyn had a piece in the Guardian: David Cameron has failed to show that bombing Syria would work.
The view from the Shadow Cabinet
Speaking in the debate, Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn said that "we must now confront this evil". He said:
"We never have and we never should walk by on the other side of the road. And we are here faced by fascists. Not just their calculated brutality but their belief that they are superior to every single one of us in this Chamber tonight and all of the people that we represent. They hold us in contempt. They hold our values in contempt. They hold our belief in tolerance and decency in contempt. They hold our democracy, the means by which we will make our decision tonight, in contempt. And what we know about fascists is that they need to be defeated."
Prior to the vote, Benn said at a meeting of Labour’s Shadow Cabinet that he would “speak from the back benches” if he was not given a free vote, and was banned from voting in favour of military action against ISIS in Syria.
Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham has said that he will not be back the Government on airstrikes against ISIS as the case has not been made. He told the BBC:
"I have come down against. That is not to say that I wouldn’t at some point in the future back airstrikes against Daesh in Syria but on this occasion for me the case has not been made by the Prime Minister, principally because of the lack of clarity about what happens on the ground. But also I believe it could fuel radicalisation and actually make our country, at this moment in time, less safe."
Shadow Defence Secretary Maria Eagle has said that she will back strikes against ISIS. She writes:
"I am satisfied that this Country is under an imminent and growing threat of attack by ISIL/Daesh, of the kind recently unleashed in Paris, Ankara, Beirut and on the Russian civil airliner destroyed over Sinai – orchestrated, planned and directed from Raqqa in North East Syria."
The view from the SNP
All of the SNP's 54 MPs (and two that have withdrawn from the whip) voted against airstrikes. The SNP supported the amendment put down by Conservative MP John Baron. In the debate, the SNP's leader in the House of Commons Angus Robertson criticised the Government's "silence" over possible extremists that could be part of the 70,000 ground troops. Robertson said there was "no shortage of countries currently bombing in Syria." He said:
"We have not heard this yet, but there is no shortage of countries currently bombing in Syria. Most recently, the Russians have been attacking Daesh—and, too often, the moderate opposition to Assad as well. Coalition nations that have conducted strikes in Syria include—it is a long list—Australia, Bahrain, Canada, France, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, which, incidentally, also uses the Brimstone weapon system, the Republic of Turkey, which, interestingly, is also bombing our allies in Kurdistan, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America. Open sources confirm that since September 2014, those air strikes have involved F-16 Falcons, F-22s, F/A-18 Super Hornets, sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and weapons from drones launched from above Syria. The United States central command, Centcom, confirms that the United States has conducted more than 2,700 air strikes in Syria."
The SNP's International Affairs Spokesperson in the Commons, Alex Salmond said that claims there would be no or minimal casualties from a bombing campaign on Raqqa were incredulous:
"I cannot tell the hon. Gentleman the number of times I have heard the argument about minimising the civilian casualties from a bombing campaign. I bow to no one on the skill of our pilots and the sophistication of weapons, but if he actually believes we are going to engage in a bombing campaign in a concentrated urban area such as Raqqa without there being civilian casualties, he is living on a different planet. As the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden said, there is no conceivable balance of difference that we are going to make to the campaign in Syria."
The view from the Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Crispin Blunt
In the debate on 2 December, Blunt said:
"In my judgment, this House will best discharge its responsibilities by giving our Government the authority they need not just to act with our international partners against this horror, but to influence those partners to make the necessary compromises in their national objectives, and to ensure the collective security of all nations."
You can read his contribution to the debate in full here.
Prior to the vote, here are some of Blunt's views:
- On 3 November, Crispin Blunt wrote that at that present time, UK military action in Syria would be a bad move: Only the negotiating table can bring peace to Syria – for now
- On 22 November, he wrote: British military operations in Syria: an important step forward
- On 20 November, Blunt told the Guardian that “the circumstances have completely changed”, and that preconditions in the Foreign Affairs Select Committee report had largely been met.
- On 26 November, Crispin Blunt said in Parliament that the UK should join the coalition on Syria.
He told the House of Commons:
“On balance, the country would be best served by this house supporting his judgement that the UK should play a full role in the coalition to best support and shape the politics thus enabling the earliest military and ideological defeat of Isil.”What are Conservative MPs saying about the vote?
Undecided - see the list of Conservative MPs who are undecided about airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria.
What are Labour MPs saying about the vote?
Undecided - see the list of Labour MPs who are undecided about airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria.
Against - see the list of Labour MPs who have indicated they are against airstrikes on ISIS targets in Syria.
