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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Jem Bartholomew and Andrew Sparrow (earlier)

Jess Phillips quits Labour frontbench as Keir Starmer suffers major rebellion over Gaza ceasefire – UK politics as it happened

​​Rishi Sunak Michael Howard Rwanda Andrea Jenkyns Sir Keir Starmer Suella Braverman Today

Here's what we know

Here’s a summary of a whirlwind Wednesday in British politics.

  • The UK supreme court ruled this morning that the government’s flagship immigration policy of sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful, because of risks to the people being sent there.

  • The unanimous ruling marked a major blow for the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, who responded in a combative press conference by vowing to push through emergency legislation to resurrect the plan.

  • Sunak planned to pursue a new method by creating a new international treaty with Rwanda, trying to sidestep the court ruling “to get flights off” by next spring.

  • Refugee charities welcomed the ruling, with Amnesty International urging the government to abandon the Rwanda policy and repeal the Illegal Migration Act.

  • Backbench Conservatives on the right including Jacob Rees-Mogg and Simon Clarke led Tory calls for government to bypass the European convention on human rights, but the supreme court’s ruling said the Rwanda policy would still be unlawful even if the UK left the ECHR.

  • Meanwhile, a major vote was held in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, which MPs voted against.

  • The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, faced a large rebellion over his policy not to back a ceasefire, with 56 Labour MPs and eight shadow frontbenchers defying Starmer.

  • Jess Phillips was the most high profile front bencher to leave Starmer’s team, as the issue threatens to divide Labour ahead of next year’s expected general election.

  • Protesters calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war were ejected from the gallery of the House of Commons, and a large pro-Palestinian demonstration was held outside parliament, with people shouting “shame on you” at MPs.

  • It came as the death toll in Gaza from Israeli bombardment climbed above 11,180, and the United Nations security council voted to adopt a draft resolution calling for a humanitarian pause in fighting in Gaza, and greater efforts to allow humanitarian aid into the war-ravaged territory.

That’s all from me, Jem Bartholomew, and for the UK politics live blog for Wednesday. Thanks for following along and see you next time.

Updated

More Labour frontbench rebellion statements here, from Naz Shah, Sarah Owen and Yasmin Qureshi.

Updated

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