LABOUR have been accused of "irrelevance" at Westminster after Jeremy Corbyn told his MPs to go home rather than wait for a vote on Syria.
The SNP and Labour have clashed over last night’s Commons debate on the issue.
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford tweeted: “SNP forced a division on Syria tonight, we had to express our view on lack of Parliamentary engagement. Labour, who are clearly divided on Syria, abstained. What is the point of Labour in Parliament? At least the SNP are an effective opposition.”
That was backed up by the SNP’s defence secretary Stewart McDonald, who tweeted: “Cannot for the life of me understand Labour’s position tonight. They spent all day agreeing with us on the need for proper and meaningful parliamentary debates and votes, and then abstain on their own debate when the SNP forces a vote. Feeble."
SNP MP Pete Wishart tweeted: "Looks like the Tories are going to vote on the closure motion. First time they’ve been tempted out for a non-binding vote in months.
"Labour of course abstained. You can always count on Labour to be almost irrelevant. We manage to get the Tories into the voting lobby and Labour run away home."
But Labour MPs said the SNP decision to force a vote last night was meaningless.
MPs spent eleven hours discussing Syria in the emergency debate secured by Labour MP Alison McGovern.
The motion was “That this House has considered the current situation in Syria and the UK Government’s approach”.
So when MPs voted, McGovern said, they were merely voting on a piece of parliamentary procedure for the sake of it.
Critics said the vote had the power to send a symbolic message that the Government had not allowed Parliament to debate the issue to a satisfactory extent.
McGovern tweeted: “To be clear. This 'vote' on my motion is a nonsense.
“The motion was just that we had debated the issue. It's not really a votable motion.
“The SNP called it just for the sake of it. It proves nothing.
“But please read speeches, many of which focused on the right thing: Syrians.”
Labour’s Paul Sweeney added: “The SNP bizarrely forced a vote on the question of whether Parliament had just debated Syria, when it had just debated Syria. It was a vote on a statement of the obvious. It is a gross and cynical distortion to suggest that it was a vote on anything other than that narrow point.”
The SNP’s Peter Grant defended his party’s decision: “We voted No because MPs didn't get enough time to ‘consider’ question, as witnessed by large number of MPs who didn't get a chance to speak.
“We get the same question ‘House has considered’ in c half of all debates. What's the point of asking a question if it's absurd to answer it?”
McGovern replied: “Here we go again. Talking about process and ourselves, rather than Syrians and the atrocities they face.
“I really wish people wouldn't do this.”
MPs will today consider Parliament's role in approving military action.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel