Blow for Starmer as frontbenchers resign over Labour chief’s refusal to again Gaza ceasefire

Sir Keir Starmer has suffered a main blow to his authority after Labour MPs staged a mass insurrection over his stance on a ceasefire in Gaza.

A complete of 10 members of the Labour chief’s frontbench resigned or had been sacked as greater than 1 / 4 of his MPs defied him to assist an instant cessation within the combating.

Jess Phillips was probably the most high-profile shadow minister to give up earlier than she was fired as 56 Labour MPs within the Home of Commons backed a name for a ceasefire.

Ms Phillips mentioned she had resigned with a “heavy coronary heart” however added that she may see “no route the place the present navy motion does something however put in danger the hope of peace and safety for anybody within the area now and sooner or later”.

The Labour chief has referred to as for a humanitarian pause within the battle and warned a full-scale ceasefire would solely “embolden” Hamas to regroup and plan extra atrocities.

Labour MPs had been ordered to again the get together’s modification to the King’s Speech, in step with that place.

They had been additionally on a three-line whip to abstain on the SNP’s modification calling for a ceasefire. Yasmin Qureshi, the shadow girls and equalities minister and MP for Bolton South, was the primary to announce she had resigned to again the SNP name. She described the size of bloodshed in Gaza as “unprecedented” and mentioned MPs needed to “name for an finish to the carnage to guard harmless lives and finish human struggling”.

She was adopted by Afzal Khan, the shadow minister for exports and MP for Manchester Gorton, who mentioned supporting a ceasefire was “the very least we will do”.

Paula Barker, shadow minister for devolution and the English areas and MP for Liverpool Wavertree, additionally anounced she could be standing down saying she needed to comply with “my conscience”.

In addition to the shadow ministers who give up, frontbenchers Rachel Hopkins, Sarah Owen, Naz Shah and Andy Slaughter additionally left the frontbench after breaking the get together whip to again the modification.

Parliamentary non-public secretaries Dan Carden and Mary Foy have additionally left their positions.

Sir Keir mentioned he regretted that get together colleagues had not backed his place, however added: “I wished to be clear about the place I stood, and the place I’ll stand.”

Earlier than the vote greater than 70 Labour MPs had publicly backed requires a ceasefire in Gaza. However a Labour spokesperson mentioned {that a} Commons vote was a unique matter, including: “It is a whipped vote and each MP is aware of what the consequence of which means.”

Throughout Wednesday’s Commons debate, Ms Shah was the primary Labour frontbencher to inform MPs that she meant to assist the modification. She was adopted by shadow minister Helen Hayes, who instructed the Commons that “a ceasefire is unquestionably the minimal we ought to be demanding within the face of such horrific struggling.”

Labour’s resolution to not again a ceasefire has additionally prompted the exodus of a sequence of councillors from the get together, and Sir Keir was compelled to carry a crunch assembly final month with a gaggle of Muslim Labour MPs to deal with anger over his dealing with of the disaster – together with feedback by which he appeared to again the chopping of energy and water to Gaza.

Nevertheless, frontbencher Imran Hussain in the end resigned “with a heavy coronary heart” final week, saying he was quitting his function as a shadow minister to have the ability to “strongly advocate” for a ceasefire.

The Commons showdown got here as Israel’s forces entered Gaza’s al-Shifa hospital, which Israel insists sits atop a navy headquarters utilized by Hamas. Medics have warned of extra civilian casualties, with the troops’ encirclement of the hospital in current days already blamed for the deaths of dozens of sufferers.