MP sponsors and speaks in House of Commons debate
Today in the House of Commons, John Baron MP spoke in a debate on Syria. The debate was secured by John via the Back Bench Business Committee, with support from MPs on all sides of the House. The motion for debate was ‘that this House believes no lethal support should be provided to anti-government forces in Syria without the explicit prior consent of Parliament’. No decision to arm the rebels has yet been taken, though the Government is thought to favour such action. The vote was won 114-1.
John said,
“Matters of war and peace are amongst the most serious decisions a Prime Minister can take – whether military intervention or the provision of lethal support to rebel groups. It is therefore essential that such decisions have the support of Parliament.”
“This debate has already been a success. When we first discovered the Government was seeking to lift the EU arms embargo, the Government was unclear as to whether Parliament should have a vote authorising any arming of the rebels. Initially, there was talk of consulting Parliament.”
“But through the efforts of Parliamentarians and this debate, the Government has firmed up on this promise, culminating with the Foreign Secretary’s assurance yesterday and the Minister’s assurance today. I welcome these developments.”
Ends
Word Count: 230
Date: 11th July 2013
Notes to Editors:
- A verbatim transcript of the debate will be online on the Hansard website.
- For more information, please see John’s press release of 3rd July [‘John Baron MP secures House of Commons debate on Syria’].
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