The 2013 Syria Vote Revisited

  With the surprise announcement of a potential US withdrawal from Syria just before Christmas, the international military presence in the country is back in the spotlight. This represents a good moment to revisit a piece written by the Remote Warfare Programme in the aftermath of 2018’s other big Syria news story, Theresa May’s decision to respond to the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime with a limited strike alongside the French and Americans.  May's decision reignited an old topic of debate: when is it appropriate for a British Prime Minister to authorise the use of military force without advanced parliamentary approval?  As the House of Commons Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee begins its inquiry based, in part, on this very question, the Remote Warfare Programme team recently sat down to discuss the importance of the 2013 parliamentary defeat of David Cameron’s policy of intervention in Syria and its legacy.