Corbyn said there would be a decision as a party on opposing airstrikes and he will then decide whether to impose the whip on MPs.
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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.
Jeremy Corbyn is heading for a showdown with his shadow cabinet over his opposition to military action in Syria, as the boss of Britain’s biggest union warned that MPs who continue to show him a lack of respect are writing their political obituaries.
But Corbyn dismissed this idea, saying he is “not going anywhere and… enjoying every minute” of his leadership.
Another defeat would be “hugely damaging to Britain’s reputation across the world” and would “leave us less safe”, said Fallon.
But several of his own Conservative Party and some lawmakers in the opposition Labour Party are wary of entering into another war in the Middle East after Western intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya failed to bring stability to the region.
He went on: “Any attempt to force Labour’s leader out through a Westminster Palace-coup will be resisted all the way by Unite and, I believe, most party members and affiliated unions”.
“After the week that we’ve had, the best way of holding the party together, but allowing MPs to solemnly express what they feel, is for us to have a free vote”, he told the Independent on Sunday.
Now empowered by a series of game-changing events – the Paris attacks, a Daesh bomb placed on a Russian plane, and a U.N. Security Council Resolution supporting action against Daesh – Mr. Cameron is confident that he will get cross-party support for his proposal in the House.
UK’s plan to start bombing sorties in Syria has been defeated as the government couldn’t muster majority votes. “That is not open debate, it is abuse and should have no place in the party”, Mr McCluskey wrote.
Mr Cameron has claimed there are 70,000 moderate Syrian fighters who could fulfil the role.
It came as the Stop the War Coalition – once chaired by Mr Corbyn – launched a renewed lobbying drive to convince Labour MPs to vote against air strikes.
But it was the leader, not the Shadow Cabinet, who decided the course, he said.
“And backbench MPs are even calling on him to quit for having the temerity to maintain his values and principles, with one even comparing him disgracefully to a “fuhrer”.
He rejected claims that bombing Raqqa and other IS-held cities could lead to a large number of civilian casualties as the terror group retreats into tunnels or uses the local population as “human shields”.
“I am respectful of differences of opinion within our party”.
He argued precision strikes by the RAF had not claimed a single civilian life during action taken against IS in Iraq.
A day later, Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said the campaign against IS should move beyond airstrikes to ground troops, through alliances with Arab forces.
If he allows a free vote, perhaps half his shadow cabinet and around 60 Labour MPs may vote for air strikes.
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Some 5,000 people protested in London Saturday against potential British participation in Syria airstrikes, as political momentum mounted to broaden the fight against Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
