Has British Parliament just given succour to Assad

Has British Parliament just given succour to Assad or have Cameron and Clegg seriously miscalculated? Olivia Boland writes.

The failure of the Coalition Government to win the vote in Parliament for its motion regarding a principal agreement to take military action against Syria signals a new chapter in British history, a chapter that brings in the beginning of the end of the Special Relationship between the British government and the US government in their joint imperial explorations.

With greater use of the internet and the availability of satellite TV news channels, British people are able to access and research information from a wide range of sources and angles, and as a result, we are now seeing that the phenomenon of physiological synchronization of the public mood/opinion that used to take months or years to take place, happens within days. Politicians who fail to catch up with this fast opinion forming process now find themselves left behind by the tide of history, stranded.

Before Parliament's debate on Thursday, the question of Britain taking military action against Syria was discussed extensively by the public on the internet, and within 3 to 4 days there was consensus on the internet that British people can not be persuaded. The public mood was articulated and summed up correctly by Diane Abbot, the Shadow Health Secretary "The British People have seen the movie, they know how it ends".

It was foolish of Cameron and Clegg to think that despite clearly expressed public opinions against bombing Syria, they could force MPs of their own prospective parties to go against the public opinion and instead vote with their Party Leaders for military actions.

Further more, the reported foul language peppered with F,C and S words used by a government official in criticizing Ed Miliband's refusal to back the motion, and Secretary for Defence Hammond's remark that Miliband was giving succour to Assad, shows that the Tories had lost the fresh, calm generosity and the positive and good natured energy Cameron brought to the Party, and in that vacuum we are seeing one misjudgment after another. From the nastiness of the "go home" vans to the breath-taking action of bullying the Guardian Newspaper to smash up its computer hard drives, and the maneuvering ahead of the Parliament debate of this motion, the chance of the Tories winning the election in 2015 under Cameron does not look great. Whoever has been influencing the Tory's recent strategies has now put Cameron's political future as the Leader in doubt.

Olivia Boland