Labour faces fresh divisions over Gaza as SNP bring new ceasefire vote
Labour faces the prospect of fresh divisions over the Israel-Gaza conflict as a second vote on calling for a ceasefire is set to take place in Westminster this week.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) will return the issue in the House of Commons via a motion on an immediate ceasefire, with reports Labour is seeking a deal ahead of the vote.
The previous SNP-led vote in November on whether to call for a ceasefire in Gaza saw eight shadow ministers resign while others were sacked from frontbench positions, as some 56 Labour MPs defied a three-line whip to back an amendment explicitly calling for a ceasefire.
It comes as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer used his speech at Scottish Labour’s conference this weekend to urge “an end to the fighting” ahead of the vote scheduled for Wednesday.
And he said this should be: “Not just for now, not just for a pause, but permanently. A ceasefire that lasts. That is what must happen now. The fighting must stop now.”
Labour previously called for “humanitarian pauses” in a bid to get vital aid into Gaza, while Starmer’s language has since evolved to back a “sustainable ceasefire” in the territory.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has formally backed the demand for a full cessation of hostilities, as he backed SNP first minister Humza Yousaf’s motion tabled in Holyrood.
While Westminster SNP leader Stephen Flynn said Labour was not in touch with his party’s whips about the wording of the Commons motion, he offered to meet Starmer on Monday.
“In the absence of contact from any of your Labour Party colleagues, I am now writing to make clear that I am of course willing to have such a discussion,” he wrote to Starmer.
Speaking on the BBC on Sunday, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy refused to confirm how Labour MPs might vote, as he aimed to downplay suggestions of a rift within the party.
He said: “I haven’t seen the motion, it’s not yet put down, we will scrutinise that motion as is our way in Parliament and we will take it from there.
“We will have a vote in Parliament this week but it’s not that vote that will bring about a ceasefire, it’s diplomatic action… it will only be a political solution that brings an end to this.”
It follows the row over the Rochdale by-election, with Labour withdrawing support for candidate Azhar Ali, who suggested Israel took Hamas’ attack as a pretext to invade Gaza.
Another parliamentary candidate, Graham Jones, was suspended after audio appeared to show him using the words “f****** Israel” at the same meeting where Ali made his comments.