Starmer, Iran, and Parliament’s role in war powers

About this episode

This episode explores Parliament's role in military action and the evolving practice of war powers in the UK, particularly in light of recent events in Iran.

What role does Parliament play when the UK is involved in military action? In this week’s episode, we explore the evolving practice of parliamentary war powers, sparked by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s response to recent military developments in Iran and the Middle East, where defensive action was authorised before any Commons statement or vote.   We discuss the royal prerogative, the uncertain post-Iraq convention on parliamentary debate before offensive military action, and whether a meaningful distinction exists between defensive and offensive military action. We also examine new legislative attempts to codify Parliament’s role and the political and military realities that shape whether MPs get a say.   Plus, we discuss the long-running constitutional saga over hereditary peers, as the House of Lords prepares to consider Commons amendments to the Bill to oust the hereditaries at the end of this parliamentary Session. The Government has unexpectedly published a Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill which would increase the number of paid ministers in the House of Lords. This may be linked to the amendment in the Hereditary Peers Bill originally proposed by the…

People in this episode

Host: Hansard Society

Topics covered

• parliamentary war powers
• military action
• political debate
• legislative attempts
• constitutional issues
• MPs' pay

Keywords

• war powers
• military action
• parliament
• Sir Keir Starmer
• House of Lords
• legislation
• constitutional saga
• MPs' pay

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: House of Lords, Conservative Peer, Hansard Society, Government, Ministerial Salaries (Amendment) Bill, Hereditary Peers Bill

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