He also hit back at Labour MPs plotting his downfall by saying they failed to realise the party had “changed” since his election, warning the rebels: “I am not going anywhere”.
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Britain’s government has yet to drum up the support it needs to win parliamentary approval for launching air strikes against Islamic State militants in Syria, defence minister Michael Fallon said on Sunday.
No 10, however, refuses to be drawn on when the vote might take place, adding: “If we don’t think we have the numbers, we won’t call a vote”.
The leader again refused to commit to offering a free vote to his MPs as he delivered an impassioned critique of David Cameron’s case for attacking Islamic State in its heartlands.
“Obviously there are strong views on both directions”.
He told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show: “We’ll have a further discussion on this”.
This has sparked fury among some, who accuse him of underhanded tactics by rallying support for his own position instead of waiting for the party to make a collective decision.
The MP also suggested the survey would only reach the new Labour members and registered supporters attracted by Mr Corbyn, as the party did not have email addresses for numerous long-term backers.
“The shadow cabinet chose to support the call for David Cameron to step back from the rush to war and hold a full-two day debate in the House of Commons on such a crucial national decision”.
He said: “My view about the membership of the Labour Party – they must have a voice”.
Some Labour MPs had briefings with the MoD this weekend and are wrestling with the arguments, listening to constituents. “We expected the smears to come from the Tories and the media”, Aavash said.
Asked by another user why he had posted a link that allowed non-Labour members to fill it in, Mr Ashworth replied: “Because I think we should take account of views of voters”.
Mr Corbyn said a unanimously-passed UN Security Council resolution calling for “all necessary measures” against the terrorist groups did not provide justification for military action. “I’m enjoying every moment of it”, he asserted.
Number 10 confirmed it had received Mr Corbyn’s letter, but said it had not yet responded.
The Mirror predicted last night that MPs would be allowed a free vote, following weeks of turmoil within the party’s top team.
“He is nearly certainly trying to bounce the shadow cabinet into (opposing airstrikes)”, he told Press Association. That, MPs say, would certainly be “new politics”.
Cameron on Thursday laid out the case for British fighter jets, already bombing ISIL targets in Iraq, to join France, the United States, and others in targeting ISIL strongholds in neighbouring Syria.
He argued precision strikes by the RAF had not claimed a single civilian life during action taken against IS in Iraq.
Labour MPs and shadow cabinet ministers said the email exposed Mr Corbyn’s “ideological opposition” to intervention and proved it was not based on any real concerns about the Prime Minister’s strategy to defeat Isis.
Finance Minister George Osborne, a frontrunner to succeed Cameron, said he understood people’s concerns that further involvement in the Middle East could make Britain a target.
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Amid a Labour split on the issue, union boss Len McCluskey has accused Mr Corbyn’s opponents of using the issue as the “thin edge to stage a coup”.
