LONDON, Oct 21: A former British minister failed on Friday in her bid to challenge the power of the prime minister to declare war without the approval of parliament. The Armed Forces (Parliamentary Approval for Participation in Armed Conflict) Bill, submitted by former cabinet minister Clare Short, would have given parliamentarians the final say over any British military action.
But her initiative stumbled when she failed to get the necessary 100 votes from fellow members of the House of Commons that would have ended debate and prompted a vote on her bill.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office had earlier Friday dismissed the move by Short, who quit his cabinet in protest over the invasion of Iraq.
Mr Blair had put the decision to join the US-led invasion to the House of Commons, Britain’s lower chamber of parliament, which voted in favour. But under British law, he was not obliged to request a vote.
Clare Short, a former international development secretary, wanted to change the legislation to give lawmakers a veto over any military action proposed by Blair or any future prime minister.
Her bill, which now falls lower down a list of legislative priorities, stands little chance of becoming law in the face of government opposition.
She introduced her private member’s bill — draft legislation put forward by backbench members of Parliament — to the House of Commons earlier Friday, arguing that it was necessary in the interests of democracy and good decision-making.
“Having recently lived through the way in which the decision to go to war in Iraq was made, I strongly think that we owe it to our armed forces and the reputation of our country to put in place arrangements which will ensure that the decision to go to war is more thoroughly considered,” Short said.
Mr Blair’s spokesman said that such a law could prevent the government from acting quickly and rob it of the crucial element of surprise.
“What you do not want to do is put yourself in a position where, for some reason you can’t foresee at the moment, action has to take place very quickly,” he said.
Ms Short argued that a prime minister would still be allowed to take urgent action without approval, but would be forced to pull the troops back if parliament then rejected the move.
