'An honest difference of opinion' over air strikes

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RAFTornado aircraftImage source, Ministry of Defence

The substantive issue could scarcely be more serious; potential UK involvement in air strikes against Syria in an effort to countermand a global terrorist threat.

At the same time, the first minister's tone was intriguing as she confirmed, in a news conference at Bute House, that the SNP will vote against a proposed incursion by the RAF into Syria when the Commons debates the issue tomorrow.

I questioned Nicola Sturgeon as to whether there was ever any serious doubt that the SNP would be in the No lobby of the Commons when the vote was taken.

In response, she went out of her way to emphasise that this was a carefully weighed decision, preceded by detailed thought and discussion.

'Pragmatic calculation'

Her tone eschewed political rhetoric. Indeed, she praised the prime minister's efforts to attempt to convince sceptics, indicating that he had made progress in that direction. She summed up the position as "an honest difference of opinion."

So what is driving this approach? Firstly, this "nuanced" view - Nicola Sturgeon used that very adjective - is driven by conviction. Within the SNP leadership, Ms Sturgeon has taken particular pains to stress that it was important to think carefully, particularly in the aftermath of the Paris attacks.

She deliberately left the impression that this was not primarily a decision from pre-existing first principles but rather a careful, pragmatic calculation based on an assessment of all the elements, in Syria and globally.

So Ms Sturgeon accorded weight to the Prime Minister's persuasion but argued that it fell short on two points; the lack of a credible ground force to support air strikes and the lack of planning for post-conflict reconstruction in Syria.

Without those, she argued, air strikes might well make matters worse.

There are of course wider political calculations. There are some who have been adamant against air strikes from the outset. Ms Sturgeon is not in that camp, matching perhaps the troubled thoughts of many in Scotland and the wider UK as they reflect upon Paris.

Thirdly, the standpoint adopted by the SNP has the effect - intentional or otherwise - of contrasting with the uncertainty and disquiet in Labour ranks, reflected in the lack of a common position among Her Majesty's principal Opposition at Westminster.

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