Today: 9 May 2025
16 November 2023
2 mins read

Labour lawmakers defy Starmer on Gaza  

A large protest by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign outside parliament demanding lawmakers back a ceasefire took place while the vote was going on…reports Asian Lite News

British opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer was under pressure on Wednesday after 56 of his lawmakers, including several of his policy team, voted with another opposition party to demand the government call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

The so-called amendment — a proposed addition to the government’s legislative agenda for the next year — to call for a ceasefire in the violence did not pass and so will not become law. But the backing of so many Labour lawmakers showed the levels of disquiet in the party over the Middle East conflict.

Nearly a third of Labour’s 198 lawmakers backed the amendment introduced by the Scottish National Party which said: “(We) call on the government to join with the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate cease-fire.”

Starmer, like Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the United States and the European Union, has called for “humanitarian pauses” to help aid reach Gaza rather than a cease-fire which, they say, would allow Hamas to regroup after its attack on Oct. 7.

Eight members of Starmer’s ‘shadow’ ministerial team left their roles in order to defy the party position.

“On this occasion I must vote with my constituents, my head and my heart,” Jess Phillips, who resigned from her policy role to vote for a cease-fire, said in a letter to Starmer posted on the social media platform X.

“I can see no route where the current military action does anything but put at risk the hope of peace and security for anyone in the region now and in the future.”

It was a blow to Starmer, who is keen to present his party as united, disciplined and ready for power before a national election expected next year which Labour is on target to win, according to opinion polls.

“I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the position tonight. But I wanted to be clear about where I stood, and where I will stand,” Starmer said after the vote.

Several lawmakers in Britain’s parliament have been pressing Starmer and Sunak to call for a ceasefire to end Israel’s siege of Gaza, where more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of war over a month ago.

A large protest by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign outside parliament demanding lawmakers back a ceasefire took place while the vote was going on.

Starmer had put forward a rival amendment, toughening the party’s position to say humanitarian pauses “must be longer to deliver humanitarian assistance … a necessary step to an enduring cessation of fighting as soon as possible.”

That amendment was backed by 183 lawmakers, with 290 voting against it.

ALSO READ-UN Passes Humanitarian Pause Resolution for Gaza

Previous Story

Weather Alert: Low Pressure Over Bay of Bengal Turns Depression

Next Story

Church of England backs services for gay couples

Latest from -Top News

Singapore lauds UAE field aid

A Singaporean delegation visited the UAE Floating Hospital in Al-Arish, where they toured its various departments and were briefed on the medical and humanitarian services provided to patients arriving from the Gaza

Leaders hail new Pope

The UAE President expressed hope that the pontiff’s tenure would advance global harmony, peace, and interfaith understanding President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has extended warm congratulations to Cardinal

UAE calls for calm

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, urged Inda and Pakistan to “exercise restraint” and avoid further escalation that could imperil regional and global peace The United Arab

India Strikes Terror Bases in Pakistan

‘Justice is served’, says Indian Army as Operation Sindoor unfolds In a significant military response to the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam that claimed 26 civilian lives, the Indian Army on Wednesday

UAE Reopens Doors to Lebanon

The prime minister expressed Lebanon’s “utmost gratitude and appreciation to the UAE” and President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan….reports Asian Lite News Lebanon welcomed the decision by the United Arab Emirates
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Israel bombards Gaza, including evacuation areas for Palestinians

The rally speakers accused Israel’s government of not doing enough

Hamas Slams Israel Security Hurdles in Gaza border

The Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) has accused Israel of tightening