His MPs shook their heads and Corbyn seemed to shrivel ...
AHUSHED House heard Theresa May describe alleged consequences of the Syrian regime’s bombing of Douma. ‘Innocent families found dead with foam in their mouths, burns to their eyes and their bodies surrounded by a chlorine-like odour. Children gasping for life as chemicals choked their lungs.’
In a white jacket made possibly of leather, the Prime Minister was a distinctive figure at that despatch box surrounded by sombre dark suits.
Of her decision to send in the RAF, she said without theatricality: ‘I am deeply conscious of the gravity of these decisions. They affect all members of this House – and me personally.’
There was a growl of approval from the Chamber when she said earlier, ‘it is my responsibility to make these decisions – and I will make them’.
Even Kenneth Clarke (Con, Rushcliffe) seemed impressed. ‘It takes a real prime minister to face up’ to such decisions, said the Father of the House.
But he and other voices of significance (among them Hilary Benn and Sir Vince Cable) wondered if greater thought should be given to involving Parliament in decisions to use military force.
Mr Clarke did admit that if the Douma incident were repeated, he hoped Mrs May would do exactly the same thing. That’s called having it both ways, Ken.
FOR Jeremy Corbyn, the danger was more from his own side – supporters of the Blair regime – than from Tories opposite him. He got through his response to Mrs May in one piece, despite early Governmentbench heckling when he accused the Prime Minister of dancing ‘to the whims of the US President’.
But even at that point, some Labour MPs were shaking their heads in disagreement with their leader.
Things went much more wrong for Mr Corbyn later when backbenchers such as Chris Leslie (Lab, Nottingham E), Mike Gapes (Lab, Ilford S) and Barry Sheerman (Lab, Huddersfield) were given the floor.
Mr Leslie, who had earlier listened to Mr Corbyn with the discomfort of a man who was having his knackers gnawed by weevils, was lacerating about the Leader of the Opposition without actually naming him.
‘Those who would turn a blind eye,’ cried Mr Leslie, ‘who would do nothing in pursuit of some moral high ground, should also be held accountable for once.’
Mr Gapes, a former chairman of the foreign affairs select committee, had a triple riff about Labour’s tradition of humanitarian intervention in foreign war zones.
During these contributions, Mr Corbyn seemed somehow to shrivel. No matter what some say about his truculence, he is not immune to such attacks.
Jess Phillips (Lab, Birmingham Yardley) said that if Mrs May had sought preapproval from the Commons for the air strike, she would have supported it.
Miss Phillips may seem a hard-boiled thing, but she betrayed a touchingly naive side when she begged the House to put aside party politics when it debated foreign conflicts. That was hardly the case
the Cameron Government was defeated by Ed Miliband’s Opposition a few years ago. Talking of which, Mr Miliband (Lab, Doncaster N) was nowhere to be seen yesterday. A striking absentee.
In response to Andrew Percy (Con, Brigg & Goole), Mrs May agreed that it was an ‘insulting’ smear on our troops to suggest that she had jumped to Washington DC’s orders.
Laura Smith (Lab, Crewe & Nantwich) was duffed up by Mrs May when she tried to make that very suggestion (‘at what point did the president instruct her?’). Ms Smith rather let herself down immediately after that question by giggling and consulting her telephone. How depressing to think that a year ago Crewe was represented by the grown-up Edward Timpson.
Coo-ee everyone, Peter Kyle (Lab, Hove), suddenly like some Peter Simple brigadier, barked a demand for ‘strategy’. Stephen Pound (Lab, Ealing N) asked what the endgame was – and received no answer.
And with pacifists in Parliament Square, Wes Streeting (Lab, Ilford N) boldly said: ‘The Stop The War demonstration should be taking place outside the Russian embassy.’