Jeremy Corbyn has asserted his authority over Labour MPs ahead of a likely vote on military intervention in Syria on Wednesday, declaring that he alone will decide whether to impose a whip. Mr Corbyn, who opposes air strikes, is at odds with half of his shadow cabinet, including Labour's deputy leader, Tom Watson, and shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, and a number of MPs have called for a free vote.
“It’s me who decides. I will make up my mind in due course,” Mr Corbyn told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.
The Labour leader said more than 70,000 party members and supporters had emailed in response to his call for them to let their views on Syria be known. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said they were overwhelmingly opposed to military intervention. The shadow cabinet meets on Monday to discuss the Syria vote but Mr Corbyn said that MPs could not determine policy on their own.
“The Labour membership must have a voice. Labour MPs need to listen to that voice and try to understand where they are coming from,” he said.
The government, which has a parliamentary majority of 12, needs opposition votes to compensate for about 15 Conservative MPs who are likely to vote against air strikes. The Scottish National Party and the Liberal Democrats will vote against the motion but the Democratic Unionist Party, which has eight seats, is likely to support it.
Majority
David Cameron said last week that he would only call a vote if he was confident of securing a clear majority and his defence secretary, Michael Fallon, said yesterday the government had not yet reached that point.
Many Labour MPs who share Mr Corbyn’s opposition to air strikes have been critical of his handling of the issue, and two MPs last week called openly for him to resign. Some fear that the leader is depressing the party’s support to the point where it could lose a byelection on Thursday in Oldham, where the party is protecting a massive 15,000 majority from a strong challenge by Ukip.
Mr Corbyn shrugged off criticism of his leadership and said he would not be resigning.“I’m not going anywhere … I’m enjoying every moment of it.”
