Labour leader makes clear only he will decide whether to whip his MPs to vote against extending airstrikes against Isis

Jeremy Corbyn has warned plotters against his leadership that he is “not going anywhere” over his opposition to bombing Syria, as he urged MPs to listen to the Labour membership.

The Labour leader is facing a rebellion among shadow cabinet ministers, with the shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn, and the deputy leader, Tom Watson, among those in favour of extending airstrikes against Islamic State.

However, Corbyn asserted his authority on Sunday by reminding MPs of his large mandate and making clear that he alone would decide whether to whip them to vote against extending airstrikes on Isis.

“It is the leader who decides. I will make up my mind in due course,” he said.

He has also consulted members about their views on whether David Cameron has made the case for bombing the Isis stronghold of Raqqa and received 70,000 responses through an online form.

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Cameron is likely to hold a vote on extending the bombing of Isis to Syria on Wednesday. He has the vast majority of Tory MPs behind him but cabinet ministers including Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, and Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, have been telephoning Labour MPs urging them to swing behind the government position.

Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Corbyn said bombing would lead inevitably to civilian casualties and risks making the situation “worse, not better”.

He questioned Cameron’s claim that there are 70,000 moderate Syrian troops to secure territory vacated by Isis and voiced doubts about their loyalties.

Corbyn said he would not describe himself as a pacifist but military action should be used only as an absolute last resort. Trying to achieve a political settlement in Syria and cutting off Isis funding, oil trading and weapons supply should be the priority, he said.

His clear statement of opposition to airstrikes is likely to be backed up by the Labour membership and he is also seeking the support of party’s ruling national executive committee in an attempt to persuade MPs to come round to his view.

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.

“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.

Watson has been trying to broker a deal with Corbyn to allow a free vote, as it is possible that key shadow cabinet ministers would have to resign if the leader insists they vote against airstrikes. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, is in favour of a free vote across all parties as a matter of conscience.

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McDonnell also said people should not see Labour’s discussions about Syria as divisions but a healthy and democratic sign of the new politics that Corbyn has brought to the party.

Lord Falconer, the shadow lord chancellor and justice secretary, became another senior member of the shadow cabinet to confirm he was minded to support the government’s proposals. On the BBC’s Sunday Politics, he refused to comment on whether he would step down if the shadow cabinet was forced to take a collective position against military action but said he hoped there would be no need for resignations.

Chuka Umunna, the former shadow business secretary, who withdrew from the leadership campaign early in the contest, said he would vote on his conscience whatever the leadership decides and is minded to vote in favour of the government’s plans.

“My own personal view is that where are our national security is threatened it would be wrong simply to leave it to others to deal with it,” he said.



“We can’t ignore the barbarity of this death cult, who throw gay people off buildings, systematically rape women, [and] carry out mass executions. Now, do I think that military action – and by the way I am minded to support military intervention, but we have yet to see the wording of the motion – is going to resolve this conflict? Of course not. Do I think it is the only solution? Of course not. But what I do think it can do in the interim is … start to dismantle what Isil are doing.”

There have been reports that some MPs are plotting to remove Corbyn, having consulted lawyers on whether they could exclude him from the ballot paper in a new contest.

But Corbyn dismissed this idea, saying he is “not going anywhere and … enjoying every minute” of his leadership.

In an acknowledgement there may be Labour figures trying to plot a coup against him, he said: “I feel there are some people who haven’t quite got used to the idea the party is in a different place.”

He defended his decision to email Labour MPs to make clear his opposition to airstrikes before the shadow cabinet had come to a collective position and suggested his colleagues had briefed the media about their positions in favour of bombing before he had made a public declaration against it.