Britain is about to come to a monumental decision — it will decide tomorrow whether it will bomb ISIS (also known as Islamic State) in Syria, and the exact wording of what MPs will be asked in parliament has now been agreed.
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Britain will decide whether or not to bomb Syria tomorrow — here is the motion MPs will vote on
Prime Minister David Cameron said there was "growing" parliamentary support for air strikes.
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (L) stands behind Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, as Prime Minister David Cameron stands in front of former Prime Minister John Major at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph in central London, November 8, 2015.
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In a meeting on Tuesday morning, the cabinet agreed on a 12-point motion that will be presented to MPs tomorrow morning.
The motion says that there is a "clear legal basis to defend the UK and our allies in accordance with the UN Charter" but also notes that "
- You can read the whole motion
- here
- .
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Along with agreeing the motion, the cabinet also agreed to clear the entire schedule of the House of Commons for the day, meaning there will be no Prime Minister's Questions. This is because prime minister David Cameron wanted to make sure there is time for a full day's debate on the potential military action on Syria.
The debate is set to begin at 11.30 a.m. and continue until 10 p.m. tomorrow, when Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will call a vote.
"We will take the action necessary to make sure we have, in many ways, the equivalent number of questions we would often have across a two-day debate in one day," said Cameron in a speech outside Downing Street. "I want MPs to be able to have full consideration, to make speeches, to make points, to ask me questions, to examine the government's case."
He added that there was "growing" parliamentary support for bombing Syria and that it is "the right thing to do."
The cabinet's confirmation of a time and date for the vote could signal that it's almost certain that air strikes in Syria are going to happen. This is because Cameron said he will only hold a vote but only if he has obvious and clear support from the House of Commons. He said that if the vote failed, it would give ISIS a propaganda victory.
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According to the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg, "informed guesses in Westminster suggest around 380 MPs might be ready to vote for action, with only around 260 or so opposing - a comfortable majority by any stretch."
Meanwhile, the leader of the Labour party Jeremy Corbyn only just confirmed that he will give his party's politicians a free vote over whether they are for or against the bombing. This is significant as usually a leader of a political party will whip round and try and get all MPs on the same page.
Prior to Cameron's pledge to get a one day debate and vote underway as soon as possible, Corbyn criticised the Prime Minister for not holding a two day debate and that he should "stop the rush to war."
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