Mr. Corbyn then announced Labour lawmakers were free to vote as they wished on the issue, a move one of his top supporters had said would hand victory to the prime minister “on a plate”.
Advertisement
The motion to be put forward by David Cameron in parliament tomorrow (December 2) will lay out Britain’s approach in defeating ISIS.
The decision to allow Labour MPs a free vote came after a fraught shadow cabinet meeting yesterday by Mr. Corbyn at the end of which he abandoned the other option open to him which was to issue a three line party whip against airstrikes, which may have led to resignations in the party.
Among the speakers due to address the rally is Labour MP and shadow city minister Richard Burgon, who will explain his opposition to the bombing before the protesters march to both Labour and Conservative headquarters, which are nearby.
The US and France are already fighting ISIL, also known as ISIS or Daesh, in Syria.
These included an assertion that ISIS funding must be stopped and that there must be work done to encourage regional co-operation against the murderous group with countries like Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia, who should send in troops.
But some Conservative MP are likely to vote against.
And Labour’s MP for Oxford East Andrew Smith said the situation was “complex and dangerous” and that he was now opposed.
“I wasn’t planning to quit my job”, he said.
The crunch vote takes place on Wednesday night in the House of Commons, where Prime Minister’s Questions have been cancelled to allow for 10 and a half hours debate.
However, at least 50 lawmakers from the opposition Labour Party and the Northern Irish Democratic Unionist Party are also expected to support the motion, delivering Cameron a comfortable majority, the BBC reported.
“Those voting for that war include David Cameron, Michael Fallon, Philip Hammond and George Osborne for the Tories and leading figures of the minority hawks in Labour, Hilary Benn, Tom Watson, Yvette Cooper, Maria Eagle and Angela Eagle”.
“It will not make a big operational difference”, Professor Malcolm Chalmers of military think-tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) told AFP.
A YouGov opinion poll last week found that 59 percent approved of Britain joining air strikes in Syria, compared to 20 percent who disapproved.
And writing for the Guardian, Mr Corybn said the case for strikes was “coming apart at the seams” – notable the claim of 70,000 moderate forces on the ground to take advantage of air strikes against IS.
His opponents shot down Mr. Corbyn’s compromise formula – that members could have a free vote but must agree to a statement that party policy opposes airstrikes.
It is not yet clear if RAF Voyager KC2 aircraft based at RAF Brize Norton, used to refuel Tornado jets over Iraq, will be called on in the crisis.
Advertisement
“Matters of national security are far too important to be bulldozed through the House of Commons for political convenience”, the spokesperson said.
