John McDonnell, Hannah Spencer and Diane Abbott have co-sponsored the Bill
Your Party MP Jeremy Corbyn has tabled a Bill in the House of Commons to require parliamentary approval for the foreign use of military bases.
The Bill has been tabled in response to Keir Starmer’s decision to allow the US to UK military bases in its war against Iran. Among the bases the UK has allowed the US to use is the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.
The Bill has been co-sponsored by Labour, Green and independent MPs.
Following the news that Starmer would be allowing for the US to use British military bases for its war, Corbyn said: “Starmer’s decision to drag Britain into another illegal war will prove to be a catastrophic, historic mistake.”
The full title of Bill is: “Bill to require parliamentary approval for the deployment of UK armed forces and military equipment for armed conflict; to require parliamentary approval for the granting of permission by Ministers for use of UK military bases and equipment by other nations for armed conflict; to require the withdrawal of that permission in circumstances where parliamentary approval is not granted; to provide for certain exemptions from these requirements; to make provision for retrospective parliamentary approval in certain circumstances; and for connected purposes.”
Alongside Corbyn, the full list of co-sponsors of the Bill are:
- Diane Abbott (Independent)
- Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Labour)
- Brian Leishman (Labour)
- John McDonnell (Labour)
- Adnan Hussain (Independent)
- Ayoub Khan (Independent/Your Party)
- Richard Burgon (Labour)
- Kim Johnson (Labour)
- Apsana Begum (Labour)
- Ellie Chowns (Green)
- Hannah Spencer (Green)
The Bill has been submitted as a Presentation Bill. This means that there will be no vote taken on it, and there is not yet any vote or debate timetabled for it. Instead, it is a formal indication that the MPs intend to bring a Bill forward on the issue.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
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