The British vote marks another step in building an global consensus on how to address the problem of the Islamic State group – something that had not been possible before the bombing of a Russian jetliner over Egypt and the Paris attacks, said Jill Sargent Russell, an expert on warfare politics and strategy at King’s College London.
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As part of its campaign of terror, the group has publicly executed hundreds of men accused of homosexuality, by stoning and throwing them off buildings. The party’s candidate for Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, told the Standard: “I’m leaning towards voting against military action on this occasion because the Government hasn’t yet convinced me it will make London safer or help weaken let alone defeat IS”.
He told BBC2′ s Newsnight: “I can not believe us stopping air strikes against Daesh in Raqqa for so long as they represent a threat to us, a threat to British citizens and a threat to the British homeland”. But the rift is much larger in the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, will make the case against strikes before the foreign-affairs spokesman, Hilary Benn, makes the case for them.
Around a dozen Conservative MPs could defy the party whip, along with 54 Scottish National Party members and the majority of the Labour Party to vote against military action.
In both countries, parliamentarians will vote to approve their leaders’ requests to do so.
Jeremy Corbyn, who is opposed to the government’s plan to launch RAF raids, said Cameron’s comment “demeans” the office of prime minister.
Mr Cameron has always maintained he would only bring the matter to a vote if he was confident of victory, and is expected to win backing for military action.
Speaking to the house, David Cameron began by warning MPs that Isis had “brutally murdered British hostages”.
The vote comes after US Secretary of State John Kerry urged North Atlantic Treaty Organisation to intensify the fight against IS.
Tory minister Robert Halfon and Labour MP Ivan Lewis were among those taking widely differing views on airstrikes in Syria. He said since Cameron made his statement to MPs on Syria last week, doubts over airstrikes had only “grown and multiplied”.
“The question is this”, Cameron said, “do we work with our allies to degrade and destroy this threat and do we go after these terrorists in their heartlands from where they are plotting to kill British people, or do we sit back and wait for them?”
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David Cameron repeatedly refused to apologise today for branding MPs opposed to launching airstrikes against Isis in Syria “terrorist sympathisers”, as the Commons prepared to authorise military action.
