MPs vote to REJECT Israel ceasefire in landslide as Shadow Ministers resign from top roles in Labour rebellion
MPs vote to REJECT Israel ceasefire in landslide as Shadow Ministers resign from top roles in Labour rebellion
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The House of Commons has rejected an amendment calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas as Sir Keir Starmer faces a rebellion from Labour MPs.
MPs voted 293 to 125 against the Scottish National Party’s King’s Speech amendment calling for “all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
A total of 56 Labour MPs voted with the SNP after Starmer only called for "humanitarian pauses", including eight Shadow Ministers.
Jess Phillips, who stood against the Holborn & St Pancras MP in the most recent Labour leadership race, resigned as the Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence after the vote.
WATCH NOW: Sir Keir Starmer stopped short of calling for a ceasefire
She said: "I must vote with my constituents, my head, and my heart which has felt as if it were breaking over the last four weeks with the horror of the situation in Israel and Palestine."
The Labour Party confirmed eight Shadow Ministers and two shadow ministerial aides "left the frontbench" following the vote.
Three Shadow Ministers quit over the "carnage" in the Middle East ahead of the vote.
Shadow Equalities Minister Yasmin Qureshi resigned over the "unprecedented" scale of bloodshed.
Jess Phillips MP holds the Sue Gray report up as she responds to a statement by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson
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Manchester Gorton MP Afzal Khan left his exports post over what he claimed was Israel's "indiscriminate" response.
Paula Barker, who resigned as Shadow Devolution Minister, added: "Self-defence is not a blank cheque."
Shadow Veterans Minister Rachel Hopkins, Shadow Local Government Minister Sarah Owen, Shadow Crime Reduction Minister Naz Shah, Shadow Solicitor General Andy Slaughter, Liverpool Walton MP Dan Carden and Durham City MP Mary Foy were among the remaining MPs to leave the frontbench.
The 10 departures come after Imran Hussain stepped down as Shadow New Deal Minister last week.
Starmer has held firm on his Israel stancePALabour MPs were under a three-line whip to abstain on the SNP's amendment.
Responding to the rebellion, Starmer said: “I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the [official party] position tonight.
"But I wanted to be clear about where I stood, and where I will stand. Leadership is about doing the right thing. That is the least the public deserves. And the least that leadership demands."
However, it was not clear ahead of the vote whether Shadow Ministers would face the sack.
A Labour Party spokesperson yesterday warned that MPs knew the "consequences" but GB News understood MPs were unlikely to have the whip removed.