The campaign group Stop the War staged a protest in Cambridge city centre today, as part of a national day of organised opposition to the possible extension of British military involvement into Syria.

The protest began outside King's College, where Lewis Herbert, the leader of the Labour group on the City Council, addressed the crowd, saying: "All the councillors I know are against bombing."

Nationally, Labour remains divided over the issue, with the Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell calling today for the party's MPs to be given a free vote on the matter.

Herbert claimed that Daniel Zeichner, the Labour MP for Cambridge, opposes the extension of bombing into Syria, but was not able to attend the protest today. In a radio interview yesterday, Zeichner said that he is "quite likely to vote against the government."

The Cambridge branch of Unite are currently running a change.org petition lobbying Zeichner to commit to opposing bombing.

Another speaker took to a megaphone outside King's to say "the US supports ISIS because ISIS are challenging governments which don't play ball with American corporations", before urging the assembled crowd to "give your support to Jeremy Corbyn".  

Similarly, one of the protesters claimed that the Western nations involved in bombing Syria are only doing so "because the Americans want to build a pipeline."

France has intensified its bombing campaigns in Syria in response to the attacks in Paris, and the USA and Russia are also seeking to disrupt ISIS's operations through aerial bombing raids.

The protest comes in the wake of the attacks in Paris earlier this month, in which terrorists thought to have been acting on behalf of ISIS killed 130 people.

There are now signs that David Cameron may put the question of whether to bomb ISIS in Syria to a Commons vote.

Parliament last voted on the matter in August 2013, voting not to back military action. 

The protest later moved into the Market Square, where chants of "Don't bomb Syria" were led by the Stop the War figures.

One member of the public became involved in an argument with the protesters, claiming that "Bombing's not going to solve it, but it's not going to hurt. We didn't defeat Hitler by doing nothing."

One of the protesters countered his claim with "What we need is love and respect for each other," to which the member of the public responded: "Who did you get that from? The Syrians?"

Two Cambridge academics, Professor John Kinsella and Professor Diane Reay, have lent their support to a Stop the War letter addressed to David Cameron, warning the PM not to go ahead with what they see as a "dangerous escalation". 

Alongside the Stop the War protest in Market Square, members of the Liberal Democrats appeared in order to demonstrate against the County Council’s planned cuts to street lighting provision in the city.

Former Cambridge MP Julian Huppert was part of the Lib Dem contingent in the city centre, joined by the former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, who is in Cambridge in advance of an appearance at the Literary Festival tomorrow.

Speaking to Varsity, Vince Cable explained that protesting against the street lighting cuts is necessary because “this is obviously an issue that affects people in Cambridge a lot.”

When asked about the Stop the War protest just metres away, Cable said: “I was a member of the Coalition Cabinet, and we did support attacks on ISIS in Iraq, and it seems to me logical to extend it into Syria.

“It’s largely a symbolic effort in solidarity with France particularly. It’s not going to turn the war, but I think it’s important that Britain sends the right signals.”