U.K. lawmakers backed Prime Minister David Cameron’s plan to extend air strikes against Islamic State from Iraq into Syria, after the opposition Labour Party split over whether to support military action.
The House of Commons in London voted 397 to 223 in favor of a motion by Cameron’s government authorizing action. Lawmakers had earlier rejected an amendment that would have blocked the use of military force.
The 10 1/2 hours of debate saw many tetchy speeches and interventions, but the best received came from Labour foreign- affairs spokesman Hilary Benn, ending the debate by taking the opposite side of the argument from his leader, Jeremy Corbyn, a career-long opponent of military interventions.
“We must now confront this evil,” Benn said, as Corbyn sat in silence beside him. “It is now time for us to do our bit in Syria.”
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