On the eve of a one-day debate and vote in the House of Commons on airstrikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria, thousands of people gathered in London's Parliament Square calling for lawmakers to reject the plan.
Cries of 'DO NOT BOMB' echo off the buildings outside the Tory party office. #DontBombSyria #clearthesky pic.twitter.com/POr6y2872e— Emily Buchanan (@_emilybuchanan) December 1, 2015
It's expected that the majority of MPs will back Prime Minister David Cameron's proposal to expand airstrikes from Iraq to Syria.
His efforts were dealt a bit of a setback on Tuesday evening when Parliament's Foreign Affairs committee approved a motion that said Cameron "has not adequately addressed concerns” over the airstrikes by a four-to-three vote.
Good crowd in #Exeter trying to #stopthewar #DontBombSyria pic.twitter.com/AhIq0PQauV— Andy Hannan (@andyhannan) December 1, 2015
The debate has also caused a schism in the Labour Party with leader Jeremy Corbyn staunchly opposing airstrikes while Hilary Benn, Shadow Foreign Secretary, has come out in support of them.
Bomb attacks on Syria will make the streets of London LESS safe and further polarise society. In a place where innocent civilians are being used as human shields, this move will only play into the hands of ISIS and feed more radicalism. These blind bombs will not discriminate, this is not the answer - we say no. #blanketsnotbombs #welfarenotwarfare #dontbombsyria #stopthewar A photo posted by Aislinn Logan (@aislinnlogan) on Dec 1, 2015 at 11:57am PST
The tug-of-war over support continued on Tuesday night as Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party announced its intentions to vote in favor of airstrikes while both sides continued to lobby backbench MPs.
Things getting crunchy tonight, PM urging '22 to back him, Lab MPs report vigorous attempts to get them on Corbyn's side despite free vote— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 1, 2015
Nigel Dodds formally confirms that DUP will back military action in Syria— James Landale (@BBCJLandale) December 1, 2015
Wednesday's debate is expected to begin at 11:30 a.m. GMT with a vote due around 10 p.m. GMT.
Quite simply.. A photo posted by Dave Jenkinson (@jenksguevara) on Dec 1, 2015 at 11:57am PST
Protestors opposing air strikes in Syria gathering outside Parliament tonight pic.twitter.com/unpRqovten— Nick Eardley (@nickeardley) December 1, 2015
No doubt this impromptu #DontBombSyria demo is being covered by the MSM. pic.twitter.com/n3oBT53ppS— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 1, 2015