Funnily (or depressingly) enough this is exactly what happened with the infamous welfare bill that kickstarted Corbyn's original leadership campaign in 2015. Harman as caretaker leader whipped Labour to abstain with the same logic - amend if possible, then vote against at the third reading if not possible. The problem being that the proceduralism of politics clashes up against fundamental moral principle. Where's the compromise with this? "Good news, we've managed to negotiate so torture is only legal sometimes!"
For a former human rights lawyer, this is one area where I am genuinely shocked at Starmer (well, not when it comes to finding any excuse to relegate left MPs to the backbenches). There's no fucking halfway house here, it's straight-up legalising war crimes, don't even humour it through the House. It's done a great job of boosting Nadia Whittome's profile and rep, though, I must say.
For a former human rights lawyer, this is one area where I am genuinely shocked at Starmer (well, not when it comes to finding any excuse to relegate left MPs to the backbenches). There's no fucking halfway house here, it's straight-up legalising war crimes, don't even humour it through the House. It's done a great job of boosting Nadia Whittome's profile and rep, though, I must say.