Gulf News

Cameron to get green light on Syria

SPLIT IN LABOUR PARTY WILL GIVE THE UK PRIME MINISTER ENOUGH WESTMINSTE­R VOTES TO ALLOW THE RAF TO DROP BOMBS ON DAESH

-

Prime Minister David Cameron made the case for extending British air strikes against Daesh into Syria as he asked Parliament yesterday to back military action in a vote.

Lawmakers in London were due to debate the issue for 10 hours yesterday with a final vote expected in the early hours of this morning. Opinion is split on both sides of the House of Commons, but the rift is much larger in the opposition Labour Party, whose leader, Jeremy Corbyn, made the case against strikes.

Cameron is likely to win the vote with the “clear majority” that he said last week he wanted, with the bulk of his Conservati­ve Party backing the motion.

Corbyn’s already weak authority over his lawmakers may be further dented if a large proportion of Labour members of Parliament, especially senior figures, vote against him, even though he’s agreed they can vote according to their conscience­s. He warned them on Tuesday of the possible consequenc­es of their actions.

“The vast majority of party members are opposed to the war in Syria; the majority of Labour members of Parliament are opposed to the war in Syria,” Corbyn told Sky News television. “Every member has their responsibi­lity tomorrow to make their decision on whether this country goes to war again or not.”

The motion being put to lawmakers “talks about, yes, the necessity of taking military action against [Daesh] in Syria as well as Iraq, but it is part of a broader strategy,” Cameron told reporters Tuesday.

“It’s about politics and diplomacy and humanitari­an aid, all of which we need to bring to bear to bring peace to Syria but to make sure we protect our national interest of fighting against this appalling terrorist organisati­on.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Arab Emirates