Amid reports of a rebellion against him, UK's Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn today warned his detractors that he is "not going anywhere" over his opposition to British plans to bomb the Islamic State stronghold of Raqqa in Syria.
Despite previously insisting he would listen to colleagues, the 66-year-old Labour Party leader declared he would decide the party's policy on Syria, saying: "It is the leader who decides."
Corbyn 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.
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However, Corbyn asserted his authority 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 IS strongholds in Sryia.
"It is the leader who decides. I will make up my mind in due course," he told the BBC.
Corbyn, the Islington North MP who won the Labour leader race with more than half of the votes earlier this year, said: "I feel there are some people who haven't quite got used to the idea that the party is in a different place. It's much bigger than it's been in all of my lifetime.
"We have a very open electoral system. The result was a very, very clear mandate for me to be leader of the party.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'm enjoying every moment of it," he asserted.
Prime Minister David 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.
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.
