Speaking on The Andrew Marr Show today about the UK air strikes in Syria, Jeremy Corbyn called for new laws to ensure the government must seek parliamentary approval before taking planned military action.
The Labour leader said: “I think parliament should have a say in this and I think the Prime Minister could have quite easily done that.
“She took a decision sometime last week that she was going to work with Macron and Trump in order to have an attack on the chemical weapons establishment in Syria.
“She could have recalled parliament last week – it is only the Prime Minister who can recall parliament – or she could have delayed until tomorrow, when parliament returns. There is precedent over previous interventions where parliament has had a vote.
“I think what we need in this country is something more robust like a War Powers Act so governments do get held to account by parliament for what they do in our name.”
“Parliament should have a say in this and the Prime Minister could have quite easily done that”@jeremycorbyn calls for a War Powers Act to guarantee MPs a vote on military action #marr #Syria pic.twitter.com/56lTQB5bOT
— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) April 15, 2018
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