Press release
21-10-05
Barrett demands Parliament not Prime Minister given
final say over war
John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP
for Edinburgh West, today argued that parliament, not the
prime minister should be
given the last word over any decision to go to war.
Speaking during a landmark debate in the
House of Commons, Mr Barrett made an impassioned speech in
support of the Armed
Forces (Parliamentary Approval for Participation in Armed
Conflict) Bill tabled by Claire Short. Unfortunately the
91 MPs supporting the Bill fell just short of the 100 required
for it to pass to the next stage of the parliamentary process.
Had the Bill been successful, parliamentary
approval would have been required before any government could
commit troops
to war. This would bring Britain into line with other democracies
such as the US, removing the ‘royal prerogative’ which
allows the decision to be taken by the prime minister.
Speaking following the debate, John Barrett
said:
“The decision to go to war is the
most important decision any country can take. It is crucial
that this decision is
taken openly on the floor of the House of Commons rather
than behind closed doors in darkened rooms by the prime
minister and his advisors.
“After the Iraq war we owe it to
our armed forces and the reputation of our country to make
sure that the we put in
place arrangements to ensure any decision to go to war
is carefully considered and does not depend on ‘dodgy
dossiers’ or the personalities of prime ministers.
“Opinion polls show overwhelming
support from the public for this Bill. Over the past few
months I have been running a
poll on my website on this issue. Over 90% of those who
voted believed that parliament, not the prime minister should
have
the final say over whether our country should go to war.
I wholeheartedly agree with them.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Opinion Polls: According
to Charter 88, 83% of people in a recent State of the Nation
poll (the independent
survey carried out by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust since 1991)
and 93% of people in a recent ITV poll supported the
aims of the Bill. A poll conducted on John Barrett’s own
website showed 91% support for the Bill:
http://www.johnbarrettmp.com/cgi-bin/vote.pl?name=iraq&action=view
John Barrett was speaking during a debate on the Second Reading
of the Armed Forces (Parliamentary Approval for Participation
in Armed Conflict) Bill in parliament this afternoon |
