What alternatives are there to the use of royal prerogative powers in the deployment of armed forces?
Currently there is no requirement for the deployment of UK armed forces to even be debated within Parliament. The decision is part of the Royal Prerogative, delegated to the Prime Minister. Although much has been made of the vote to send troops to Iraq, Parliament still has no formal role in the process and is dependent on the goodwill of the executive to hold a debate on a substantive motion rather than an adjournment debate. While some would argue that this has created a precedent, this is certainly not the Prime Minister’s view and an issue of such national importance should not be left to either goodwill or interpretation of precedent. The alternative would be for Parliament to approve the deployment of armed forces through a vote on a substantive issue in the House of Commons. In exceptional circumstances where this was not possible before the troops were deployed, the debate and vote would be retrospective. There should also be a special joint committee of both Houses to oversee
