Jeremy Corbyn warns rebels: I’m not going anywhere over Syria

It showed 13% were in favour of airstrikes – while 11% are still undecided.

The Labour leader will also press Cameron to delay the vote until Labour’s concerns about the justification for the bombing are addressed, as part of a deal he has thrashed out with the deputy leader, Tom Watson, and other senior members of the shadow cabinet over the weekend. Because I don’t think there is a convincing enough plan about what happens next after that.

Ms Abbott said: “Jeremy does not want to have either sackings or resignations, none of us want to lose valued colleagues”.

However, Corbyn asserted his authority on Sunday by reminding MPs of his large mandate and making clear that he alone would decide whether to whip them to vote against extending airstrikes on Isis.

Prime Minister David Cameron is reported to be ready to drop the vote if Corbyn imposes his line on Labour lawmakers.

He has the vast majority of Tory MPs behind him but cabinet ministers including Philip Hammond, the foreign secretary, and Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, have been telephoning Labour MPs urging them to swing behind the government position.

Corbyn went into the shadow cabinet meeting armed with polling of a sample of members who responded to an email asking for their views, which showed 75% of 1,900 people were against Cameron’s proposals.

“I would urge them to take a second look at us and to come and join us”.

“I hope you are”, Corbyn said.

Asked if there was any chance party divisions could force his resignation, Mr Corbyn said: “I’m not going anywhere”. If they have a position on the shadow leadership team, will they defy the whip and resign – or risk being sacked?

The veteran MP, who was a regular rebel on the backbenches, said: “I understand dissent, I understand disagreement from leadership”.

Britain has been striking Daesh targets in Iraq from the air since September 2014, although Cameron has long wanted to broaden the mission to include the northern Syrian city of Raqqa. We will have a further discussion on this.

Mr Corbyn has said he “cannot” support military action at this time.

The minister said it was risky not to try to defeat IS with force. Mr Cameron has claimed there are 70,000 moderate Syrian fighters who could fulfil the role.

“It’s about providing information and answering factual questions that parliamentarians may have”, he said.

“This is not about the internal politics of the Labour Party, this is about the internal security of our country”, he said. That would probably have strengthened this terrorist organisation.

“It is in the national interest, it is the right thing to do, we will be acting with our allies, we will be careful and responsible as we do so, but in my view it s the right thing to do this to keep our country safe”, he said.

“We have always been prepared to defend ourselves and we should do so on this occasion”.

The Unite general secretary accused Labour MPs of a “sickening” effort to get rid of Mr Corbyn by exploiting the row over Syria.

As he got into his vehicle he told journalists surrounding him it was “actually very rude, the way you behave”.