Cameron Loses Parliamentary Vote on Syrian Strike, Swift Newspapers Reactions
Local Editor
British Prime Minister David Cameron's plans to launch an offensive against the Syrian government have been defeated in the Commons vote.
Cameron lost a government motion, backing a military intervention in the Arab country "if necessary", by 272 votes to 285, after dozens of Tory MPs joined forces with the opposition Labour party.
"The House has not passed a motion, it is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action. I get that and the government will act accordingly," the British premier said on Thursday.
American officials said the US government is ready for unilateral military action, after British lawmakers rejected the motion in support of an assault against Syria over the alleged use of chemical weapons near Damascus.
The British Prime Minister had played a leading role in persuading US President Barack Obama to start a military intervention in the Arab country.
British newspapers were swift to react to the commons vote, changing late print editions to run new splashes and comment.
The front page headlines make uncomfortable reading for prime minister David "I get that" Cameron. Every title refers to him being humiliated and that his authority has been diminished.
"The humbling of Cameron", said the Daily Mail. "No to war, blow to Cameron", said the Daily Telegraph. "CAM DOWN: PM humiliated as MPs say NO to military strikes", said The Sun. Also, the headline of The Times underscored the same message: "Cameron humiliated as MPs veto missile strikes on Syria"."Shock commons defeat", said the Daily Express in a page 1 blurb pointing to a piece inside headlined: "Cameron rocked as MPs say no to air strikes against Syria." The paper also carried the result of an online opinion poll recording that a majority of the public were against military action.
A similar message was delivered by the non-Tory press: "We don't want your war", said the Daily Mirror. "MPs force Cameron to rule out British assault on Syria", said The Guardian. The Financial Times's splash heading said: "US ready to act alone as MPs reject Syria strike: Embarrassing vote defeat for Cameron".
The Telegraph's leader, "A nation haunted by mistakes of the past", said it was the Iraq war that poisoned Cameron's authority. Memories of being taken to war on a false prospectus, mentioned by the PM during his speech, played an overriding part in the rejection of his call for military action.
It concluded: "The resulting vote leaves both British policy on Syria, and Mr Cameron's own leadership, mired in the deepest uncertainty."
The Telegraph also carried a piece by Fraser Nelson, editor of The Spectator, "David Cameron failed the test of trust, and paid the price", in which he wrote:"British prime ministers are just not supposed to lose votes on issues as fundamental as war and peace. This represents not just an extraordinary defeat, but a catastrophic political misjudgment."
It spoke of Cameron as "the principal loser" who, despite act "a polished performance" lost control of a key issue of foreign policy and therefore suffered "an almost unprecedented failure."
Britain tabled a draft resolution to authorize military action against Syria, but the meeting of the UN Security Council's permanent members on Thursday ended without reaching an agreement to resolve the Syrian crisis.
The British government's legal advice had indicated earlier that a military action against Syria is legal even without the United Nations approval.
Source: News Agencies, edited by website team
