Many Labour MPs have been agonising over which way to vote on Syria, leading to heated confrontation in Westminster. At the start of the week, MPs in favour of airstrikes were confident that at least 60 of their number were prepared to defy Jeremy Corbyn to back David Cameron’s proposals.
This group, effectively led by shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn, has its firmest support within the shadow cabinet, counting shadow defence secretary Maria Eagle, deputy leader Tom Watson, shadow health secretary Heidi Alexander, shadow culture secretary Michael Dugher and shadow education secretary Lucy Powell among those planning to vote in favour.
The camp had been bolstered by a victory against Corbyn at a fractious shadow cabinet meeting on Monday, at which he was forced to back down on demands for Labour’s official position to be against the airstrikes. The Labour leader himself said he had been told by whips that 43% – or up to 100 – of the parliamentary party were leaning in favour of the government’s plan.
That is now looking like a big overestimate, according to Labour sources, with a number of jittery backbenchers shaken by two interventions making the case against airstrikes.
The first was an interview given by Clive Lewis, a backbench ally of Corbyn, who warned that those voting for military action would find “on their heads be it”.
This was followed at lunchtime by Corbyn himself on BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show, making plain there was now “no hiding place” behind a whipping arrangement for those voting with their conscience in favour of the airstrikes.
Lewis’s intervention led to an angry encounter between him and John Woodcock, the former chair of Progress, who is pro-airstrikes. Woodcock was overheard telling colleagues at Westminster that he had approached Lewis in a corridor to ask about his comments and the conversation descended into a furious row.
At the same time, Labour MPs were coming under intense pressure from anti-war lobbying efforts, orchestrated by the Momentum grassroots group of Corbyn supporters and the Stop the War coalition, which led a demonstration to the party’s HQ in Brewer’s Green.
One Labour aide in the pro-airstrike camp was furious about the atmosphere and worried that some MPs previously supportive of that position were getting the jitters, with lobbying of new MPs and those in London.
“It’s widely known that a lot of MPs are very, very upset by the level of abuse and and hostility by a small, vocal and nasty bunch of individuals online and we’ve heard reports of offline material being sent to MPs as well. This is being done to reduce the number of MPs voting in favour. At the moment, the estimates are about 60 MPs but the bullying could bring down the numbers to around 30 to 40,” he said.
Senior Downing Street figures were also fretting that, while there was solid support for the government plan from some senior shadow cabinet ministers, plus an extra 16 votes from the DUP and Lib Dems, there were Labour backbenchers having second thoughts.
By mid-afternoon, there was a steady flow of MPs releasing statements saying they intended to vote against the airstrikes. A number of previously silent frontbenchers had swung behind the leadership by this point, including shadow environment secretary Kerry McCarthy, shadow work and pensions secretary Owen Smith, shadow equalities minister Kate Green and shadow energy secretary Lisa Nandy – joining shadow chancellor John McDonnell, shadow communities secretary Jon Trickett and shadow development secretary Diane Abbott.
The majority of Labour MPs who spoke to the Guardian said they had made their decisions on the basis solely of carefully weighing up the arguments for and against Cameron’s case for military action.
But several admitted it was impossible not to be influenced by worries that they could be marked out as Blairite targets for deselection if they voted in favour. One MP, who was undecided and nervous of voting for the airstrikes, said that if the rebellion was only small it would make that group of MPs clearly vulnerable, but, if there was a larger revolt, it would give them “cover”.
Another Labour MP spoke to the Guardian in tears about the decision she was facing, which she said had been made worse by feeling threatened about the consequences of the vote on her future in the party.
The intensity of the debate surprised even some old hands.
“The level of bullying and intimidation is at a level that I have never ever experienced before,” said Ann Coffey, who has been MP for Stockport since 1992 and plans to vote in favour of the strikes. “I think it is stressful for all MPs to be subjected to this, but it must be particularly stressful for newer colleagues … who have never experienced this in the party before.
“I’ve seen these kinds of tactics before, which are basically designed to bully and threaten and frighten people into not exercising their vote in a way that they might otherwise have done. That poses a serious threat to the democratic process. When you attack and bully elected representatives in order to get them to change their minds, you are actually attacking the very basis of our democracy.”
Wes Streeting, MP for Ilford North, who plans to vote against the bombing, highlighted his disgust at some of the vitriol aimed at neighbouring MP Mike Gapes, who is recovering from illness in hospital and will be unable to attend the vote. Some social media users celebrated the fact he was unwell, while another said they hoped Gapes would recover in time to get deselected.
More than 30 Labour MPs have confirmed either publicly or to the Guardian that they are supportive of the government’s plans, while at least 90 MPs have come out against the plans and in support of Corbyn’s position.
That left many undecided or undeclared and probably heading for sleepless nights.
