For only the third time since I became an MP, Parliament was recalled this week. An issue as serious as Syria certainly merits a recall; however it does throw up some interesting challenges.
Parliament itself wasn’t quite ready for a recall. The Parliamentary buildings are in constant need of repair and during the Summer Recess much of the heavy work is carried out, so I arrived on Wednesday evening navigating various piles of rubble and scaffolding. With Parliament due to return on Monday many MPs were still away, so along with the official recall notice we were given advice on how to return to Westminster quickly for this vital debate. I faced a similar challenge when my honeymoon was cut short for a key vote, with a frantic dash back to Parliament. Thankfully this time I just needed to shuffle my diary and head from Swindon to Westminster.
Since the announcement of the recall, I have received hundreds of emails and letters from residents expressing justifiable concerns about us potentially committing to military action in Syria. These weren’t generic campaign emails; they were all individually written, showing the strength of feeling on this issue. These concerns ranged from “is it really our role to police the world?”, to “we will simply make it worse” and “lessons need to be learnt from Iraq and Afghanistan”. The anger towards the gung-ho actions of Tony Blair is still fresh a decade on. Yet we have also seen horrific, abhorrent images of the chemical attacks on the Syrian people; images that we simply can’t turn a blind eye to. The latest figures suggest the number of people killed in this conflict is 100,000. Put another way, the number of people killed in Syria would fill the County Ground seven times over.
Clearly an international and co-ordinated response is needed. The Prime Minister has been clear all along that he wants to proceed on a consensual basis, bringing Parliament and the country with him. That’s why the Government’s motion specifically acknowledged the important role of Parliament and the UN:
- It stressed the need for UN weapons inspectors to brief the Security Council before any action is taken
- Underlined the need for every effort to be made to secure a UN Security Council resolution before any action is taken
- Specifically provided a second vote before Parliament before any British military involvement commences
The Prime Minister is right to address the concerns that have been raised by MPs across the House. It was too soon to vote on military action, we must allow the UN weapons inspectors to complete their work. We are determined that Britain should do the right thing by the Syrian people, but in a measured, legal and appropriate way. Anything less and it would not have the support of MPs or the country as a whole.
