The UK Parliament has voted against a motion urging for an “immediate” ceasefire in the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
The motion, put forward by the Scottish National Party (SNP) as an amendment to the King's Speech, aimed to call on London to “join the international community in urgently pressing all parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire”.
With 125 members of parliament (MPs) voting in favour and 293 against, the ruling Conservatives Party and the main opposition Labour Party's leadership made it clear that they would not support the motion.
Before the vote, Labour introduced its own motion, which was rejected by the majority of the chamber. The Labour amendment proposed humanitarian "pauses", arguing that a ceasefire could undermine Israel's "right to self-defence".
Despite the party's official stance, numerous Labour MPs, including 19 frontbenchers, expressed opinions conflicting with their leader's position. Shadow minister Imran Hussain resigned last week to advocate for an immediate ceasefire.
The Labour leadership instructed its MPs to abstain from voting on the motion, leading to resignations from the shadow cabinet, including Naz Shah, Helen Hayes, Afzal Khan, Sarah Owen, Rachel Hopkins, Andy Slaughter, Dan Carden, Mary Foy, and Paula Barker. Yasmin Qureshi stepped down as shadow women and equalities minister, and Jess Phillips resigned from the Labour frontbench, citing the need to align with her constituents' views.
She said: "On this occasion I must vote with my constituents, my head, and my heart."
Following the vote, Labour leader Keir Starmer released a statement defending his position.
“I regret that some colleagues felt unable to support the 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."
