House of Commons votes no to Syria action

The Guardian reports that the House of Commons has voted down by 285 to 272 a resolution authorising use of force in Syria. This is a huge embarrassment to David Cameron and his Government.  Cameron has said he will respect the decision. Around 30 Conservative MPs voted against.

I’m not totally surprised. I listen to the UK Today in Parliament on podcast almost every day, and in the past few months there have been many speeches from Conservative MPs expressing concern at the UK doing anything to help the rebels in Syria.

This will also be a big blow to Obama, who will have to act without their traditional ally. Of course he does have strong backing from most of the Arab League for action.