Petition · past parliament
Require the PM to seek Parliamentary approval before taking military action.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
There is currently a convention that the Prime Minister seeks Parliamentary approval before taking military action. This allows the legislature to scrutinise the rationale for going to war. As this is only convention, there is no legal requirement for the Prime Minister to continue with it.
Theresa May has called a meeting of Cabinet to decide whether or not, and in what capacity, the UK will take action against Syria (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43733861) following the recent chemical attack in Douma (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-43697084).
It is especially important that the Prime Minister puts the case for military action to the House considering the Government's lack of an outright majority.
Consequently, the current convention should be written into law.
It is especially important that the Prime Minister puts the case for military action to the House considering the Government's lack of an outright majority.
Consequently, the current convention should be written into law.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 12 Apr 2018 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 18 Apr 2018 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
18 Apr 2018
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.