Those commentators who are arguing that the United Kingdom could yet join the Obama strike on Syria are misinterpreting what happened on Thursday.
Ed Miliband led his party through the No lobby not in a demonstration of strength but in a demonstration of weakness. If he had sided with the Coalition his summer-long metamorphosis into Ramsay MacDonald would have been complete, therefore he had to vote No. This situation has not changed - he cannot join the Coalition without his party tearing itself apart, and the Coalition government cannot join the Obama strike without Labour's support.
And in many ways he has let David Cameron off the hook. There was an element of humiliation on Thursday for the Prime Minister, but equally there is not going to be any long term involvement in a bloody intractable war. The Prime Minister retains the moral high ground ("I wanted to help those children, but Labour blocked me"), whereas Ed Miliband is now a hostage to whatever happens in Syria and every atrocity can (unfairly) be portrayed as "Ed's fault", thus providing an on-going narrative for the more unscrupulous newspapers between now and 2015.
"First they crashed the economy, then they trashed our international standing in the world" the narrative will read.
Ed Miliband led his party through the No lobby not in a demonstration of strength but in a demonstration of weakness. If he had sided with the Coalition his summer-long metamorphosis into Ramsay MacDonald would have been complete, therefore he had to vote No. This situation has not changed - he cannot join the Coalition without his party tearing itself apart, and the Coalition government cannot join the Obama strike without Labour's support.
And in many ways he has let David Cameron off the hook. There was an element of humiliation on Thursday for the Prime Minister, but equally there is not going to be any long term involvement in a bloody intractable war. The Prime Minister retains the moral high ground ("I wanted to help those children, but Labour blocked me"), whereas Ed Miliband is now a hostage to whatever happens in Syria and every atrocity can (unfairly) be portrayed as "Ed's fault", thus providing an on-going narrative for the more unscrupulous newspapers between now and 2015.
"First they crashed the economy, then they trashed our international standing in the world" the narrative will read.
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