Browse > Home / Foreign Policy, Liberal Democrats / Bernard Woolley explains the Syria vote

| Subcribe via RSS



Bernard Woolley explains the Syria vote

December 3rd, 2015 Posted in Foreign Policy, Liberal Democrats by

BW: Congratulations Prime Minister you have won the vote.

DC: Excellent were we united?

BW: It was a comprehensive vote in the affirmative Prime Minister.

DC: But were we united?

BW: The Conservative Party were completely united, except for the seven who were not. This included Julian Lewis, the Chair of the Defence Select Committee. He voted with Jeremy Corbyn and just over 150 Labour MPs. But not the Shadow Defence Minister Maria Eagle, who voted with you. She, along with over 60 others voted with the Shadow Foreign Secretary Hilary Benn. But John Baron, one of your MPs on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee voted the other way. You can then say that nearly all those who take decisions about defence and foreign affairs are for you, but many of those who think that they should be taking decisions about defence and foreign affairs are against. It is similar to the way the Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence feel about each other.

The DUP, UUP, independent Unionist and UKIP MPs all supported you. The SNP, SDLP, Plaid Cmryu and Green MPs were against. So the nationalists who like internationalism voted against international action by this nation. The nationalists who dislike internationalism voted for international action in another nation. The Greens are nationalists on climate change, which they accept requires international action, but should be managed nationally, and internationalists on military matters in the hope that they may then never have to take a national decision on an international matter with national implications.

The Liberal Democrats Leader and six of his MPs supported you, two of his MPs did not. This is relatively simple. The Leader is a social liberal, a group that tends to oppose military action, but he has decided to be in favour. The main opponent is an economic liberal, a group that tends to support liberal interventionism, but he decided to be against. The anti-war liberals then are opposed to their Leader but in favour of the man they voted not to be Leader, who is in turn opposed by those who thought he should be Leader, and are now supporting the Leader they didn’t vote for.

DC: What?

BW: Compared to the Labour Party and Liberal Democrats your position is entirely coherent and united Prime Minister.

DC: Thank you, Bernard. I believe our enemy will be on the run by Christmas.

BW: Yes, Prime Minister, and ISIL.

DC: Thank you, Bernard.

Comments are closed.