Most Kent MPs have backed military action against Syria in tonight's crucial vote but there were two rebels - and another who says air strikes do not go far enough.

The government won backing for a call to launch air strikes against Syria after a 10-hour debate which saw passionate speeches from MPs on both sides of the argument and divided opinions within parties.

The Tonbridge and Malling MP Tom Tugendhat told the Commons in a powerful speech this evening he backed action against IS terrorist forces.

“It is not enough for us to look at Syria today and wish for peace; it is not enough for us to stand here and hope for it, we must fight for it," he said.

“It is not enough for us to look at Syria today and wish for peace; it is not enough for us to stand here and hope for it, we must fight for it."

"This is a group that does not wish to speak to us. They have defined us as people who must die or convert. I will do neither...I will fight."

“It is not enough for us to look at Syria today and wish for peace; it is not enough for us to stand here and hope for it, we must fight for it" - Tom Tugendhat

There was also support for action from Helen Whately, the Faversham and Mid Kent MP. She told the Commons she had recently visited the region.

“Every refugee I met was desperate for an end to the chaos; for their children to grow up and lead a decent life. There are millions of people with that plea around Syria and in it who want us to help bring about peace in Syria.”

“The justification for air strikes in Syria is because ISIS is a threat to our security; they have targeted British people on holiday and here in the UK though their plots have been foiled in the UK. Targeting them in Iraq and stopping at the border does not make sense.

Defence secretary Michael Fallon - the Sevenoaks MP - had warned this week: “What happened in Paris could happen in a British city.”

But two Conservative MPs in the county defied the party.

Earlier today Sittingbourne and Sheppey MP Gordon Henderson said bombing Syria will not make any difference.

“I voted against bombing in Syria last time and nothing that’s happened would convince me to change my mind. I said at the time, I think bombing’s a very blunt tool.

I do not actually think it succeeds, as has been proven. The Americans and French are already doing it and if that’s not succeeding why would additional British bombing succeed?”

And the Gravesham MP Adam Holloway, a former soldier who has served in the region, said he too opposed action against Syria saying: "The problems of these countries only get fixed when you fix the broken politics."

In an article for The Daily Telegraph, he said: "For the last 15 years I have watched British governments join or create international "coalitions" that have used military force without understanding what drives each conflict on the ground. This ignorance has had disastrous consequences for tens of millions of people in the Middle East and North Africa."

But there was strong support for military action from South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay. He said missile strikes did not go far enough.

He said British boots should “absolutely” be on the ground as part of an “international brigade and coalition”.

“I think it’s the only way forward... You are going to run out of money and missiles.”

It would be wrong to let the French down on taking action, he said. “There is a clear and present danger. We are already a target.

"If it had been us and France had said to us ‘no,we won’t help’ we would have felt very aggrieved.”

Ashford MP Damian Green said he would back action but there needed to be a political solution in the long term.

“I will be voting for action. It is very much a decision on balance.. But the French president has asked us to stand with them and I think we should respond to that.”

Maidstone and Weald MP Helen Grant said: “I considered the ‘no further military action’ alternative. It is abundantly clear, however, that these extremists will stop at nothing to try to kill and maim us, and our neighbours. To do nothing to prevent them from attacking us is not an option for me.”

Dartford MP Gareth Johnson said: “I hope that whatever action is taken, it will be backed up with a strategy for the region, aimed at rebuilding and stabilising the countries involved.

We need a firm plan to tackle this escalating threat and our resolve must be unbreakable. I believe we should hunt down ISIL wherever it is operating, wherever it is planning, wherever it is plotting, with the aim of stopping this terror threat once and for all.”

Thanet North MP Sir Roger Gale said there needed to be a longer term strategy but he would back air strikes.

“Just engaging in air strikes may in the short-term decapitate the enemy high command but that enemy has revealed a capacity to reorganise and regroup very swiftly and it will only be defeated, in the long term, by boots on the ground followed by a very clear reconstruction and democratic strategy not just in Syria but throughout the Middle East.”

Dover MP Charlie Elphicke acknowledged that he had been “deeply sceptical” about attacks on Syria in 2013 but the situation since the Paris atrocities had changed.

“We might think that if we just close our eyes it will all go away.

"That the terrorists will leave us alone. Yet history shows the ostrich style approach to foreign policy never works. Sooner or later they will attack us here too.”

Other Kent MPs who voted for military action are Julian Brazier (Canterbury) and Folkestone and Hythe member Damian Collins.

Conservative MPs are being whipped to back the government whereas Labour is permitting a free vote.