Syria

The House of Commons have surprised all tonight by voting against military intervention in relation to the chemical attacks in Syria last week. That has come as a huge relief to myself, as the consequences of such action were potentially quite serious. However, it should be borne in mind that at present, there is no UN mandate for undertaking such action. The UN Security Council is likely to see a Russian veto against any military action against Russia's ally Syria. The only one who could still mount unilateral military action is the USA, but I'm not so convinced about that happening either. Substantive measures still should be taken against Mr Assad's horror regime, but it's not clear to me what they will me.