Starmer backs ceasefire to stave off rebellion

Labour leader changes position on a pause in Gaza conflict for fourth time as SNP tables motion for vote ‘We have inserted a backbone into the Labour Party’ ‘If Starmer wanted a ceasefire he would table a simple amendment saying that’

SIR KEIR STARMER set out his fifth new position on Gaza yesterday as he backed an “immediate” ceasefire to avoid another damaging rebellion.

The Labour leader caved in to pressure from Left-wing MPS and the Scottish National Party by supporting calls for Israel to agree to an instant truce.

Stephen Flynn, the SNP leader in Westminster, crowed that the nationalists had “inserted a backbone into the Labour Party”.

Sir Keir tabled an amendment backing an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” after coming under pressure to support an SNP motion which will be up for a vote today.

He did so to avoid a rebellion from his party after 56 of his MPS defied his orders to vote for a truce in November, including 10 frontbenchers who resigned. Labour’s amendment matches the SNP call for an immediate ceasefire, but adds caveats including that Hamas must lay down its weapons and give up Israeli hostages.

Tabling it was enough to ease the threat of another major revolt by backbenchers, with former rebels saying they would now support the leadership. But it still fell short of the demands of some Left-wing activists who said caveats added to the SNP proposal showed the amendment was “weasel words”.

The Government has tabled its own amendment that went less far than Labour’s by only supporting “moves towards a permanent ceasefire”.

The move by Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, means Labour’s amendment may not be selected for a vote at all.

That would create a huge headache for Sir Keir who would have to decide whether to whip his MPS to abstain on the SNP motion, risking another huge rebellion, or back down and allow them to vote for it without sanction.

It is the first time Sir Keir has called for an immediate ceasefire, and the fourth time he has changed his position on Gaza in the space of four months.

After the Oct 7 terror attack he resisted calls for a truce. Since then he has backed “humanitarian pauses”, a “sustainable” ceasefire and now an “immediate” one.

David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, explained the latest shift by arguing the impending Israeli attack on Rafah meant “the situation has evolved”. He added that the wording of Labour’s amendment “mirrored” the position of key allies such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

Mr Flynn said: “Through parliamentary pressure we have inserted a backbone into the Labour Party. Their support for an immediate ceasefire is welcome.” Former rebels welcomed Sir Keir’s change of direction and said they expected Left-wing colleagues to rally behind his amendment today.

Clive Betts, who voted for a ceasefire in November, said it was a “really firm, strong statement, which I think the party will unite behind”.

Another rebel told The Telegraph they were set to back the motion, saying the leadership had “chosen party unity over their past mistaken positions”.

Labour is set to whip MPS to abstain on the SNP motion, meaning Sir Keir still faces the risk of a revolt if his own amendment fails to pass the Commons. The SNP has signalled it will support him, but the Tories would not reveal their plans and could choose to block the amendment by voting against it.

In such a scenario Labour MPS would vote on the original SNP motion, with some predicting as big a rebellion as in November if that came to pass.

Left-wing activists are urging Labour MPS to defy Sir Keir, arguing he has “muddied the waters” by attaching conditions to his backing for a ceasefire.

His amendment stipulates a truce is conditional on Hamas laying down its weapons and returning the hostages it took on Oct 7. It also deletes a reference in the SNP motion to the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people” and asserts Israel’s right to self-defence.

Diane Abbott, a former shadow home secretary, added: “If Starmer wanted a ceasefire he would table a simple amendment saying that. Instead he tables one full of weasel words. It gets Labour MPS under pressure off the hook, but means he can say his position has not changed.”