Sir Keir Starmer appeared set to avoid a damaging revolt by Labour MPs on Wednesday in a Commons vote calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Dozens of Labour MPs were believed to be prepared to rebel to back a motion tabled by the Scottish National Party backing an immediate ceasefire and accusing Israel of a war crime in pursuing the “collective punishment” of Palestinians, following the October 7 attacks by Hamas.
However, Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle allowed a Labour amendment to be called which also supports an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, but is not nearly as critical of Israel.
The decision was taken by the former Labour MP over the written objections of Clerk of the House Tom Goldsmith, who said it broke with precedent, and promoted fury from the SNP and Conservative benches.
But Sir Lindsay told the chamber: “This is a highly sensitive subject... I think it's important on this occasion that the house is able to consider the widest possible range of options.
“I have therefore decided to select the amendments in the name of the Prime Minister and in the name of the Leader of the Opposition.”
Sir Lindsay said that in his view, the parliamentary rules were “outdated” and he had asked the procedure committee to examine them with a view to modernising them.
SNP members and Tory party chairman Richard Holden could be seen shouting "shameful!" Conservative former minister Sir Desmond Swayne shouted "Bring back Bercow!" in reference to John Bercow, the divisive Speaker during Parliament’s Brexit wars.
It was meant to be an SNP day for selecting debates and motions for voting on in the Commons. But Sir Lindsay adopted a highly unusual procedure with the Labour amendment being put to a vote first, then the SNP motion, and then an amendment from the Government.
Drama continued in the ensuring debate with emotive accounts heard of Palestinian suffering in Gaza, including a father mourning the loss of his infant children to an Israeli missile attack, with his baby decapitated by the force of the explosion.
Several MPs warned of a devastating impact if Israel carries out its threats to attack the border city of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have sought shelter from the fighting further north.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan told the Security Council on Tuesday night that any ceasefire would not return more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza, “will not destroy Hamas, and will not disarm Hezbollah and the Houthis (in Yemen)”.
Noting that a four-year-old Israeli boy and his baby brother were among the hostages taken by Hamas on October 7, he said: “Why do you want to leave them in Gaza? Do you not see how immoral that is and what kind of precedent this would set for terrorists around the globe?
“Your calls for a ceasefire empower Hamas, giving them hope to stay in power. This does not ensure security – it prevents it!”
But with anger growing in Labour ranks over the Palestinian death toll and warnings by aid agencies of looming starvation, Sir Keir was under pressure to avert a potentially bigger revolt than one he suffered in November.
Then, 56 Labour MPs rebelled and 10 frontbenchers resigned or were sacked after voting for a previous SNP ceasefire motion. But this week, the language from Washington and other Israeli allies in favour of a truce has dramatically hardened, giving Sir Keir more room for manoeuvre, and the Speaker’s ruling will be a huge relief.
.@UKLabour’s motion calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and sets out the conditions for it to be permanent.
— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) February 21, 2024
Our motion can be supported by all sides of the House. MPs of all stripes should get behind it, so we can speak with one voice today. pic.twitter.com/CDDMNF6Uz5
The US administration is circulating a motion at the UN Security Council calling for a temporary pause in the fighting, and on Tuesday vetoed a rival resolution from Algeria, saying it could jeopardize "sensitive negotiations" between Washington, Egypt, Israel and Qatar aimed at brokering a pause in the fighting and securing the release of hostages.
With nearly 30,000 people killed in Gaza since Israel’s invasion following the October 7 attacks by Hamas, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said on Times Radio earlier: “Enough is enough.”
Denying that the SNP motion was biased against Israel, he insisted it would also apply to Hamas and give space for hostages held in Gaza to be released and for longer-term peace dialogue. He said his party’s persistence on Gaza had given Sir Keir some “backbone”.
But shadow foreign secretary David Lammy told the Commons that Labour was interested only in meaningful language, and on averting Israel’s latest threats.
“A ground offensive in Rafah would be a humanitarian disaster, a moral catastrophe and a strategic mistake - it must not happen,” he said. “We must not just avert a ground invasion of Rafah... all violence against civilians must now stop.
“And that is why Labour is saying unequivocally that we need an immediate humanitarian ceasefire to end the bloodshed and the suffering.”
Brent North MP Barry Gardiner had been among London Labour MPs vowing to press ahead with voting for the SNP motion if Sir Keir’s amendment was blocked.
“The question is not, Which opposition motion calling for an immediate ceasefire is better? The question is, Why is the Conservative government NOT calling for an immediate ceasefire?” he tweeted, vowing support for the SNP text if need be.
John McDonnell, the MP for Hayes and Harlington, said: “I fail to understand why, when the lives of thousands more children are at imminent risk from the Israelis’ assault on Rafah, we can’t all come together in Parliament to demand an immediate ceasefire. In the name of humanity let’s just do it.”
Labour’s Sarah Champion, chair of the Commons International Development Committee, returned from a visit to the Egyptian side of the Gaza border crossing after hearing anguished complaints from aid chiefs that Israel is blocking assistance to Palestinians.
The World Food Program said it had paused deliveries of food to northern Gaza because of increasing chaos across the territory after months of Israeli bombardment, exacerbating fears of potential starvation.
It came after a study by the UN children's agency warned that one in six children in the north are acutely malnourished.
Ms Champion said: “Nothing that has been reported braces you for the true scale of the horror in Gaza. We’re simply not getting accurate information about the levels of destruction and brutality.
“Listening to seasoned humanitarians tell us that what they’ve witnessed in Gaza makes it the worse disaster they've ever seen really brought home the savagery befalling civilians. Aid workers repeatedly questioned why international law wasn’t being followed or upheld in relation to civilians, humanitarians and medics.”
