After five hours of debate in the House of Commons, a motion by Mr. Blair's government in favor of United Nations Resolution 1441 [on Iraq] was approved without a vote when the legislators called out their approval with a shout of "Aye."
Shortly before, an amendment requiring parliamentary approval for any use of British troops — and urging a new Security Council mandate for military action to enforce Resolution 1441 — was defeated by a vote of 452 to 85.
The supporters of the amendment, proposed by the opposition Liberal Democrats, included 32 members of Mr. Blair's Labor Party.
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told the Commons that it would be "utterly irresponsible" to offer legislators a vote to pre-approve military action if it would put lives of British forces at risk.
'U.N. Monitor Says Iraqis Are Denying Having Arms Cache', NYT 26 Nov 2002