MPs must have the right to a free vote in Parliament on whether to engage Britain in future armed conflict, said Caroline Lucas MP today.
The MP for Brighton Pavilion, who has tabled an Early Day Motion to mark the 10th anniversary of a huge demonstration in London against the Iraq War, said:
"Ten years ago this week, more than one million people took to the streets of London to peacefully oppose British involvement in the Iraq war – determined to tell the world, in no uncertain terms, ‘not in our name’.
"It was the biggest political demonstration in UK history, yet the will of the British people, and that of millions of anti war campaigners around the world, was shamefully ignored.
"We owe it to the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians and all the British servicemen and women who lost their lives in this disastrous conflict to stop such a thing from ever happening again, at the very least by changing the law to ensure that any future decision to take us to war is subject to a free vote by Parliament.
"When MPs voted on Iraq in 2003, it was only because Tony Blair allowed it – it was not their right – and since Members were whipped, they generally didn't challenge the false information they were given to.
"That's why I've put down an Early Day Motion that would require a free vote on whether or not to engage Britain in armed conflict in future, and am seeking a debate on Iraq on the floor of the House."
ENDS
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