Browsed by
Category: Middle East

Syria: a call to alms?

Syria: a call to alms?

Comments 0 Comment

Thursday morning's front pages via @suttonnick pic.twitter.com/qyPsNJAdTz — TSE (@TSEofPB) September 4, 2015 One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic. Trite and perhaps misattributed though that quote is, it has probably never been more true than this week when the image of one young boy on a Turkish beach did more to highlight the plight of Syrian people than any number of reports of the death toll in the conflict (about 240,000 so far, including 12,000 children),…

Read More Read More

Syria: Whose Mandate?

Syria: Whose Mandate?

Comments 0 Comment

(Flag of Syria under French Mandate – From Wikimedia Commons) Imperial echoes in the Middle East Much of the debate surrounding potential military action in Syria has focussed on two aspects: what effect would such action have, and would it be lawful as things stand. In a sense, the two are linked in an unusual way. The normal reasons for intervening militarily are for one government to force a change of policy upon another, or to impose a settlement on…

Read More Read More

CON and UKIP voters are becoming more supportive of missile attacks on Syria – LAB and LD ones more hostile

CON and UKIP voters are becoming more supportive of missile attacks on Syria – LAB and LD ones more hostile

Comments 0 Comment

This is looking more partisan The above chart has been produced by taking the party splits on the Syrian missile issue and comparing them with the data from a week yesterday. As can be seen the net support/oppose numbers have overall moved more towards the latter. But both CON and UKIP voters have become more supportive of the proposal. The latter is in a manner that appears at odds with Farage’s high profile anti-position. Labour voters have moved sharply to…

Read More Read More

Betting on Will There Be Another Government Sponsored Commons Vote On Military Intervention In Syria By Year End?

Betting on Will There Be Another Government Sponsored Commons Vote On Military Intervention In Syria By Year End?

Comments 0 Comment

Paddy Power have launched a market on Will There Be Another Government Sponsored Commons Vote On Military Intervention In Syria By Year End? New PB on whether the Govt will have a second vote on Syria http://t.co/iR49F1eN8w pic.twitter.com/pYu6K6ekWO — TSEofPB (@TSEofPB) September 3, 2013   David Cameron said today ‘Parliament spoke very clearly and it’s important to respect the view of parliament so I’m not planning to return to parliament to ask again about British military action.’ Nick Clegg has said “could not…

Read More Read More

ComRes Phone Poll Out

ComRes Phone Poll Out

Comments 0 Comment

Labour increases its lead, from three points to six points.     The fieldwork dates were between Friday the 30th August and Sunday the 1st September 2013, ComRes interviewed 1,000 British adults by telephone, so all post the Government defeat on Syria. Other salient points from the poll This is another poll showing Labour’s share of the vote in the 36%-40% range. For the first time since December 2012 the Lib Dems are ahead of UKIP in a ComRes phone poll. As…

Read More Read More

Corporeal asks: Was this the best possible political result for David Cameron?

Corporeal asks: Was this the best possible political result for David Cameron?

Comments 0 Comment

  Government defeats in House of Commons vote are usually a blow to the sitting Prime Minister, leaving a scar of weakness, and requiring a scramble to reformulate policy to account for the set-back and fill the gap left by the defeated motion. A coalition government adds another level of questions about what this means in terms of unity. In this case however, I wonder if David Cameron will benefit from losing this vote far more than if he’d managed…

Read More Read More

After the Syria Vote: What happens next in the UK

After the Syria Vote: What happens next in the UK

Comments 0 Comment

Here's a montage of the most recent front pages I've seen. #Syria http://t.co/EkYjORp06g pic.twitter.com/sRvJIGQyNm — Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) August 30, 2013 Looking at those front pages, it doesn’t make for pleasant reading for David Cameron today. As Janan Ganesh writes Defeat in Thursday night’s parliamentary vote on the principle of military action in Syria is not an existential wound for David Cameron, whatever his more excitable enemies say. But, after several months of good form, the prime minister looks weaker than at…

Read More Read More

Syria – How it will impact domestic politics

Syria – How it will impact domestic politics

Comments 0 Comment

There was some polling released overnight by YouGov for The Times YouGov/The Times poll finds support for firing UK missiles against Syria fell to 22%, from 25% on Tues opposition grew from 50 to 51% — TSEofPB (@TSEofPB) August 28, 2013   YouGov finds 63% launching missiles at Syria will make things worse than better. 15% Disagree — TSEofPB (@TSEofPB) August 29, 2013   Despite overwhelming opposition to missile strikes in Syria, David Cameron’s personal ratings can give him some…

Read More Read More