Straw to call for end to Prime Minister's Royal Prerogative on war

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Jack Straw, the Leader of the House of Commons, will today suggest that MPs be given a vote in Parliament in the event of Britain going to war.

Mr Straw will hint in a Fabian Society lecture that the royal prerogative under which a Prime Minister can take Britain to war without a vote should be ended.

In a wide-ranging speech, he will cite the vote before the Iraq war as a precedent for giving MPs a chance to veto military action. However, many MPs will see his speech as a further shift away from Tony Blair towards Gordon Brown, who has also made it clear that he would grant MPs a vote on war in the future.

The vote on war against Iraq was highly unsatisfactory for many MPs who supported the campaign because it came only 24 hours before the US-led forces launched their attacks. Many felt they were faced with a fait accompli and will insist on any future vote being held earlier.


http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/politics/article1115935.ece