Tories and SNP furious as speaker hands Starmer a
boost over Gaza vote
Lindsay Hoyle gives Labour leader greater chance of
avoiding rebellion over calls for ceasefire by allowing amendment
Kiran
Stacey Political correspondent
Wed 21 Feb
2024 15.17 GMT
The Commons
speaker has given Keir Starmer’s hopes of avoiding a major rebellion over Gaza
a big boost by allowing the Labour leader to hold a vote on his preferred
solution to the Middle East crisis.
Dozens of
Labour MPs were preparing to vote on Wednesday for a Scottish National party
motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the second time in three
months.
However,
the speaker, Lindsay Hoyle, decided to allow Labour to hold a vote on its own
amendment, which calls for a ceasefire only in certain circumstances.
In a
decision that caused fury on the government and SNP benches, the speaker
explained he would allow both the government and Labour to bring amendments to
the motion, something that is unusual in an opposition debate.
Hoyle said:
“This is a highly sensitive subject on which feelings are running high in the
house, in the nation and throughout the world. I think it’s important on this
occasion that the house is able to consider the widest possible range of
options.”
He added
that he intended to rewrite the Commons rules surrounding opposition day
debates, sparking anger from Tory and SNP MPs. Desmond Swayne, a Conservative
backbencher, shouted: “Bring back Bercow!” in reference to Hoyle’s predecessor
John Bercow.
Soon
afterwards it emerged Hoyle had made his decision against the advice of his own
aides. Tom Goldsmith, the clerk of the house, wrote a letter to Hoyle
afterwards saying he believed it represented “a departure from the
long-established convention for dealing with such amendments on opposition
days”.
If the
Labour amendment succeeds, it will replace the SNP motion and avoid any chance
for fractious Labour MPs to rebel by voting for the motion’s more blunt call
for an immediate ceasefire.
The SNP’s
motion calls for “an immediate ceasefire for all combatants”. Labour’s, on the
other hand, calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, before qualifying
that by saying Israel cannot be expected to abide by one if Hamas continues to
threaten violence. Unlike the SNP motion, the Labour one also refers to the
importance of a two-state solution.
Hoyle’s
decision means MPs will now vote on Labour’s amendment on Wednesday evening. If
the amendment succeeds, there will be no need for further votes.
If it
fails, however, MPs will then vote on the unamended SNP motion before then
voting on a government amendment, which also calls for a ceasefire but says it
should only happen under a very specific set of circumstances.
The
government’s amendment says a ceasefire should only happen if Hamas has
completely relinquished control of Gaza and handed back all Israeli hostages,
and if a credible process has begun leading towards a two-state solution.
Some Labour
MPs say they still intend to vote for the SNP motion should the Labour
amendment fail, but party officials expect the rebellion to be much smaller
than it would otherwise have been.
Brendan
O’Hara, the SNP spokesperson for foreign affairs, told the Commons at the start
of the debate: “Voting for an immediate ceasefire today won’t by itself bring
about the end of the slaughter.
“But the
impact and the optics of this parliament, hitherto one of Israel’s staunchest
allies, saying enough is enough and calling for an immediate ceasefire would be
enormous.”
The shadow
foreign secretary, David Lammy, said: “We must not just avert a ground invasion
of Rafah, essential though it is. All violence against civilians must now stop.
“And that
is why Labour is saying unequivocally that we need an immediate humanitarian
ceasefire to end the bloodshed and the suffering.”
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