 The baronial opposition responded by summoning their own Parliament and contesting control of local government, but with civil war looming they backed down and de Montfort fled to France, while the other key opposition leader, Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, switched over to the King's side.Under the Treaty of Kingston an arbitration system was agreed to resolve outstanding disputes between Henry and the barons, with de Clare as the initial arbiter and the option of appealing his verdicts to Louis IX.However, continued Poitevin influence and the failures and renewal of provocative policies by Henry's government soon inflamed hostility once more.