The Presentation Bill, entitled the Military Action (Parliamentary Approval) Bill, is co-sponsored by Green, Independent and Labour MPs. Corbyn tabled the Bill in response to Keir Starmer’s decision to allow the US to use UK military bases in the war against Iran.

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.”

The co-sponsoring MPs are Diane Abbott, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Brian Leishman, John McDonnell, Adnan Hussain, Ayoub Khan, Richard Burgon, Kim Johnson, Apsana Begum, Ellie Chowns and Hannah Spencer.

Danger of being dragged into another illegal war

Corbyn has repeatedly warned of the danger of Britain being dragged into another illegal war. On March 2^nd, he wrote: “Allowing British bases to be used in an illegal war of aggression is a catastrophic and historic mistake. Britain has been dragged into another war because our Prime Minister would rather appease Donald Trump than stand up for international law. War is not a game. This shameful decision makes Britain complicit in the devastating consequences ahead – and jeopardises the safety of us all.”

In Parliament, he called for Britain to press for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further loss of innocent life following the attack on an Iranian school that killed over 180 people.

And in Tribune, he argued: “By allowing US forces to use British bases to bomb Iran, Keir Starmer is echoing Tony Blair’s obedience to Washington — dragging Britain into yet another criminal war.”

He added: “For too long, Britain has blindly followed the US as it indulges in disastrous imperial fantasies. It’s time to forge a different path. Now is not the time to try to rescue a ‘special relationship’ characterised by impunity, genocide, and war. Now is the time to forge an independent foreign policy based on international law and peace.”

Spanish steps

Corbyn suggests Britain “should follow in the footsteps of Spain and say: no way, absolutely not, we will not be involved in this illegal war in any way whatsoever.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez refused any cooperation with the US in its war on Iran – which provoked an angry President Trump to say that the US would break all trade ties with Spain.  Sánchez responded: “We do not intend to be complicit in something that is bad for the world and also contradicts our values and interests. I am completely confident in our country’s economic, institutional and, I would also say, moral strength.”

Richard Burgon MP said: “I am proud to be a sponsor of Jeremy Corbyn’s new Bill, published today, that would ensure MPs get a vote on military action and on the foreign use of British military bases. This is an important part of the campaign against UK involvement in Trump’s war on Iran.”

TUC statement

Meanwhile, the TUC has issued a clear condemnation of the US and Israel’s bombing of Iran. The statement said: “The use of force outside clear United Nations authorisation represents a breach of the fundamental principles of peaceful settlement of disputes enshrined in the UN Charter. This undermines the prospects for de-escalation and fuels cycles of violence that put civilian lives at risk and threaten regional stability.”

The statement continues: “The targeting of sovereign territories and airspace violates international law and heightens the danger that the region could spiral into a wider war, with catastrophic consequences for the people of the Middle East and beyond. 

“The TUC reaffirms its steadfast commitment to the principles of peace, diplomacy, and respect for state sovereignty.

“The TUC has previously condemned the repression and murder of the Iranian people by the current regime.

“The rights, safety and well-being of working people everywhere require constructive engagement, not force. We stand with trade unions across the region who are calling for an immediate halt to hostilities and the urgent resumption of talks grounded in international law. 

“We call on the UK government to do everything it can to deliver these objectives and resist all efforts to drag us further into the conflict.

“We echo calls for all states and international actors to assume their historic responsibilities to support de-escalation, work towards comprehensive diplomatic solutions and uphold the international system of legitimacy under the United Nations Charter. 

“Trade unions must be involved in processes to end conflict and build a peace grounded in social justice.

“The TUC also supports the call of the International Trade Union Confederation for comprehensive and universal ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to work toward convening a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in order to strengthen international efforts aimed at reducing nuclear armament and safeguarding collective security.”

Finally, we reproduce in its entirety a statement by Iranians for Palestine:

Iranians for Palestine UK Statement against the US and Israeli attack on Iran

We, UK‑based Iranians who stand firmly with the Palestinian struggle for liberation, condemn the US and Israeli attacks on Iran as an illegal act of an unprovoked war. These strikes are tearing through Iranian cities, destroying civilian infrastructure, killing and injuring ordinary people, and erasing the futures of families who have already lived through decades of repression and sanctions. This is an assault on Iran’s sovereignty and on the right of its people to live, rebuild, and determine their own future.

We have opposed the Islamic Republic and supported the brave Iranian protesters who have filled Iran’s streets demanding freedom for many decades and more recently in January 2026. But bombs do not bring democracy. Bombs silence people. When civilians are running for their lives, when homes, schools and hospitals are burning, when communication networks have shut down, the possibility of collective organising is very limited. Foreign intervention strengthens the authoritarianism of Islamic Republic, or will likely replace it with civil war, chaos and mayhem, exactly what happened in any other US intervention in the region, most prominently in Iraq in 2003.

For decades, Iranians have suffered under some of the harshest sanctions on civilians in modern history, which even included health and medical sanctions, designed to cause maximum harm to ordinary Iranians’ ability to live a normal life, while Western governments have simultaneously armed and protected Israel as it commits a genocide in Gaza and mass violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. The flagrant hypocrisy of the Western powers means that the West has nothing to say to the rest of the world about human rights or the rule of law.

No war on Iran.

Stop the genocide in Gaza.

Stop arming Israel.

Main image: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Official_portrait_of_Jeremy_Corbyn_MP_crop_2,_2024.jpg. Source: https://members.parliament.uk/member/185/portrait. Author: Jessica Taylor, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.