Keir Starmer has moved his party’s position on a ceasefire as he seeks to quell what could the biggest rebellion of his leadership. Tomorrow MPs will vote on an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. When MPs voted on a similar motion in a similar vote three months ago, 56 Labour MPs rebelled, including eight frontbenchers. This time around, Starmer has been warned the rebellion could be even larger.
In a bid to thwart the potential revolt, Starmer met with his shadow cabinet this lunchtime. Following that meeting, the party has announced plans to add its own amendment to the SNP motion tomorrow. For the first time, Labour is calling for an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’. The lengthy amendment makes clear that the mooted Israeli ground offensive in Rafah ‘risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences and therefore must not take place’.
This is a much more heavily caveated call for a ceasefire than what the SNP is calling for
However, scratch the surface and it’s not clear that this is such a big change in the Labour position – even if it is being dressed up to be. The Labour amendment defines an ‘immediate humanitarian ceasefire’ as meaning ‘an immediate stop to the fighting and a ceasefire that lasts and is observed by all sides’. It also includes a demand for Hamas to release all hostages. It notes that ‘Israel cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas continues with violence’. It is therefore a much more heavily caveated call for a ceasefire than what the SNP is calling for.
The hope in the Leader’s office is that Labour MPs will be content backing this amendment. There are some early signs of encouragement for Starmer with the Labour MP Clive Betts, who voted for the SNP amendment in November, telling Radio 4 he is now comfortable with the Labour position.
However, if it fails, it is currently unclear whether Labour MPs would then be allowed to back the unamended SNP motion. Starmer’s team have tried to come up with a form of words that will satisfy those MPs calling for the Labour leader to take a stronger stance in support of Palestine. For some in the Labour party, they fear a backlash among Muslim voters if they look as though they are not standing up for the people of Gaza.
This feeling is particularly acute after Starmer disowned the Labour candidate in the Rochdale by-election for an offensive Israel remark – with George Galloway now the bookies’ favourite to win next week. If he does, it will increase fears that Labour is vulnerable electorally as a result of its position. It means Starmer still faces a bumpy 24 hours convincing his MPs to hold the line.
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