Abstract

With its vote on Syria in August 2013, the UK House of Commons delivered a historic defeat to a Prime Minister and a government on a matter of military policy. We examine that vote, and the developments leading to it, by identifying the conditions that produced this unexpected outcome. We conclude that public opinion, intraparty divisions, poor party management, and the shadow of Iraq combined to create a context in which parliament exerted decisive influence.

Juliet Kaarbo, Politics & International Relations, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh.

Daniel Kenealy, Politics and International Relations, School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh