Parliament will vote before war

Today in parliament I asked the Foreign Secretary to confirm that the UK will not go blindly into war supporting an Israeli attack on Iran

Paul Flynn (Newport West) (Lab):

The lives of 179 brave British soldiers were lost in pursuit of non-existent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. If the nuclear state of Israel attacks Iran in pursuit of non-existent long-range Iranian missiles carrying non-existent Iranian bombs, can we have a guarantee that the House would discuss its position before any British lives were put in jeopardy?

Mr Hague:

First, the hon. Gentleman must be careful not to extrapolate too much from one case to another. The position on Iran and its nuclear programme is documented in dramatically more detail than any of the programmes of Iraq discussed before the war in Iraq. But of course we have established a clear convention in the House over the past 20 years about the commitment of our forces to military action and the need to consult Parliament and to have a vote in Parliament at the earliest opportunity. That is a convention well understood across the House.

Comments

[HuwOS]

Translation: we hate Iran more than we ever hated Iraq, so the government has no doubt that if it comes to a vote, a motion to support war with Iran will be passed with even less dissent than the vote to support war with Iraq.