WAVE OF LABOUR FRONTBENCHERS RESIGN TO BACK CALLS FOR CEASEFIRE IN GAZA In order to back an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza
A wave of Labour frontbenchers – though perhaps not as many as speculated – including senior MP Jess Phillips have resigned in order to back an SNP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, in a blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s authority.
Afzal Khan, Yasmin Qureshi, Paula Barker and Naz Shah are among the eight shadow junior ministers who quit in order to defy party orders to abstain from the vote.
Rachel Hopkins, Sarah Owen and Andy Slaughter have also left their frontbench roles after breaking the party whip to back the amendment.
The number is lower than some had speculated.
MPs voted 293 to 125, majority 168, to reject the SNP’s King’s Speech amendment calling for “all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
But in a blow to Sir Keir’s authority: 56 Labour MPs backed the SNP position despite Labour’s stance; Eight shadow ministers quit, bringing total resignations since the war started to nine; Two parliamentary private secretaries, Dan Carden and Mary Foy, also quit.
The MPs who rebelled say Sir Keir’s calls for humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas war don’t go far enough
