Explainer
What is Labour’s new position on Gaza ceasefire –
and will it unite the party?
There has been a noticeable shift in Keir Starmer’s
position amid fractures in the party over the issue
Labour
calls for ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ in Gaza
Kiran
Stacey Political correspondent
Tue 20 Feb
2024 18.44 GMT
What is Labour’s new position on a Gaza ceasefire
– and how big a change is it?
For the
first time since the 7 October attacks, Labour is now calling for an immediate
ceasefire in Gaza, though it is qualifying that by saying the ceasefire should
be “humanitarian”. The difference is important.
Labour says
the ceasefire should only happen if both sides agree, and that Israel cannot be
expected to stop fighting if Hamas is still threatening further attacks.
Otherwise, the party wants a pause in fighting to allow aid to get through to
Gaza. It is also calling for Israel not to invade Rafah, where 1.5 million
people are taking shelter.
The
difference between the current position and the one the party took last year is
the use of the word “ceasefire”. In November, the party called for an “enduring
cessation of fighting” instead, telling its MPs to abstain on the Scottish
National party motion calling explicitly for a ceasefire.
Since that
vote, many Labour MPs have been bombarded with messages from angry constituents
asking why they voted against a ceasefire, and have struggled to explain the
nuance of November’s vote.
Why has this decision been made now?
Starmer has
been gradually shifting his position on Gaza over the past few months. Having
first ruled out a ceasefire, he then began talking about a cessation of
fighting, before saying he wanted to work towards an enduring ceasefire.
However,
three things have prompted a noticeable shift in position over the last week.
The first
was a joint statement by Canada, Australia and New Zealand last week calling
for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” and for Israel not to attack Rafah.
This gave Starmer cover to adopt similar language.
The second
was the Scottish Labour conference this weekend, at which members voted in
favour of an immediate ceasefire. Starmer managed to avoid any impression of a
split with Scottish Labour – and its leader, Anas Sarwar – by giving a speech
in which he said: “The fighting must stop now.”
Opposition
whips have now published an amendment to the SNP motion setting out the party’s
stance on the crisis, which they hope Labour MPs will back instead of a
separate amendment from the SNP calling more bluntly for an immediate
ceasefire.
Labour’s
amendment, which will be put to the vote on Wednesday, has really focused
minds. Labour has known for weeks the SNP was likely to call a vote almost
identical to that in November, which did such damage on the Labour benches.
Last week at the Munich security conference, Starmer, his shadow foreign
secretary, David Lammy, and the shadow defence secretary, John Healey, thrashed
out an amendment to the SNP motion which they hope will finally unite their
party.
Will Starmer’s tactics work?
Several
Labour MPs who rebelled last time say they support the party’s new amendment
and are willing to vote for it and abstain on the SNP amendment, as whips are
likely to demand. Some will rebel, but Starmer’s team is hopeful it will be
fewer than last time and will not involve any more frontbenchers resigning.
The big
risk, however, is that the Speaker of the House of Commons picks the government
amendment and not the Labour one. Given the government amendment talks about
working towards a permanent ceasefire but does not call for an immediate one,
some Labour MPs may feel they cannot then abstain on the broader SNP motion.
Whether
Starmer faces an even bigger rebellion than he did in November may now rest in
the Speaker’s hands.
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