John Baron MP speaks about Syrian Parliamentary vote at Global Strategy Forum

MP says Britain must preserve military capabilities

This afternoon John Baron MP spoke at the Global Strategy Forum, an organisation which facilitates discussions about foreign affairs, defence and international security issues. John was invited to join a panel to debate the implications on future British military interventions following Parliament’s decision to vote down military action against Syria last August. His fellow panel members were Jeremy Browne MP and Gisela Stuart MP. The event was chaired by Lord Lothian, and a ‘Q&A’ session followed the panel members’ opening comments.

During the event, John argued that there was a future for British military interventions, and that the Syrian vote reflected the fact that the bar is now set very high before British forces are sent into action. He highlighted the positive fact that Parliament is carving out a foreign policy rôle for itself.

Afterwards, John said,

“Britain made the right decision not to strike against Syria. A lack of clarity as to the anticipated outcome of the strikes and the absence of a coherent strategy made many MPs wary. Syria does not rule out future interventions by the British military, but the bar has rightly been set higher.”

“Cuts to our Armed Forces will severely limit our capacity to act – if we lack the capability, the strength of the political will in Parliament is irrelevant. At a time when many countries are increasing their military spending, cuts to our Armed Forces are unwise.”