A bill demanding parliamentary approval for the foreign use of UK military bases or the deployment of UK armed forces was tabled Wednesday in the House of Commons.
Jeremy Corbyn, the MP for Islington North and Your Party leader, has presented the Military Action Bill that requires MPs to be given authority to decide whether UK troops and military equipment should be deployed, with permission from lawmakers also required for foreign militaries to use UK military bases.
“The Prime Minister should follow in the footsteps of Spain and say: no way, absolutely not, we will not be involved in this illegal war in any way whatsoever,” Corbyn wrote on US social media platform X.
The tabling serves as the debut for a broad left-wing alliance in parliament.
The group includes Green MPs Ellie Chowns and newly elected Hannah Spencer, alongside the Independent Alliance of independent MPs and rebellious backbenchers from the governing Labour Party.
The bill would require “parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict.”
It would additionally “require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by Ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict.”
Significantly, the bill would also “require the withdrawal of that permission in circumstances where parliamentary approval is not granted.”
A YouGov survey showed the British public opposes US military action against Iran by 49% to 28%.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he is “not prepared” for the UK to join a war without a clear legal basis and a detailed plan, after facing questions about why Britain has not launched offensive strikes against Iran.
“What I was not prepared to do on Saturday was for the UK to join a war unless I was satisfied there was a lawful basis and a viable, thought-through plan. That remains my position,” Starmer said during the Prime Minister’s Questions Time. “We need to act, therefore, with clarity, with purpose, and with a cool head,” Starmer said.
