Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Foreign and Commonwealth Office – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 19 January 2010.
Edward Davey
Shadow Secretary of State (Foreign Affairs), Liberal Democrat Spokesperson (Foreign Affairs)
2:30,
19 January 2010
Will the Foreign Secretary be a little clearer on the Government's thinking on the type of sanctions that they wish to see? What weight do the Government put on the views of the Opposition to the Tehran regime when they consider this matter? How does he assess the risk that major new economic sanctions across the board might assist Iran's Supreme Leader and President in resisting the internal opposition that they face?
The Opposition are the political parties in the House of Commons other than the largest or Government party. They are called the Opposition because they sit on the benches opposite the Government in the House of Commons Chamber. The largest of the Opposition parties is known as Her Majesty's Opposition. The role of the Official Opposition is to question and scrutinise the work of Government. The Opposition often votes against the Government. In a sense the Official Opposition is the "Government in waiting".
