Sir Keir Starmer will stage a showdown vote in parliament today calling for a humanitarian pause in Gaza in a bid to force Labour rebels who want a ceasefire to back his stance.
The Labour leader’s Commons motion will criticize Israel’s conduct and mourn the “insufficient aid” getting into the strip, but it will not support a ceasefire.
Sir Keir is attempting to head off an embarrassing rebellion by Labour MPs, with the SNP likely to secure its own vote calling for a ceasefire as an amendment to the King’s Speech.
More than 65 Labour MPs – including 18 Labour frontbenchers – have defied Sir Keir’s position. Almost 50 councillors have quit the party and more than 330 local leaders have urged him to change position.
The Labour leadership will put forward its own amendment to the King’s Speech to give his MPs a say and attempt to force unity, a party spokesperson said.
Labour insiders have indicated that if frontbenchers defy the leader’s position and vote with the SNP, they would have to quit or face the sack.
The spokesperson said: “Labour’s amendment reaffirms the position set out in Keir Starmer’s Chatham House speech and reflects our concerns about what we’ve seen on the ground in the last fortnight.”
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