Pro-Palestinian demonstrators are marching outside of parliament ahead of the vote (Picture: HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP)
MPs have voted to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after a day of political wrangling between Labour and the SNP.
The UK government voted on Wednesday evening after Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle selected amendments by both Labour and the Conservatives to the SNP’s ceasefire motion.
SNP MPs walked out of the chamber over the ‘chaos’ caused by the Speaker’s decision, and Sir Lindsay has faced calls to resign.
The Labour amendment pushing for an immediate Gaza ceasefire was approved by the House of Commons.
The move meant Labour MPs were able to vote for Sir Keir Starmer’s updated stance.
The SNP’s motion – which called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas and ‘an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people’ – was also passed.
SNP MPs have walked out of the chamber (Picture: UK Parliament)
Labour also called for an immediate ceasefire, emphasising that this involves both sides agreeing to lay down their arms and the return of all hostages taken by Hamas, and calling for a diplomatic process for achieving a two-state solution and a lasting peace.
The government amendment, which would only have been voted on if the Labour amendment fell, stated that ministers want an ‘immediate humanitarian pause’ in the fighting before supporting ‘moves towards a permanent sustainable ceasefire’.
But the Labour and SNP divisions went through without division – meaning each individual MP’s vote wasn’t recorded, causing anger among MPs across all parties who wanted their vote put on the record.
A similar motion tabled by the SNP in November saw 10 shadow ministers and parliamentary aides rebel to back an immediate ceasefire, with 56 Labour members defying a three-line whip and backing an amendment to the King’s Speech.
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There was uproar at Sir Lindsay’s decision to choose the Labour amendment for debate in the House of Commons.
There were cries of ‘shameful’ and ‘bring back Bercow’ as Sir Lindsay set out his reasoning behind selecting both the prime minister and Sir Keir’s amendments to the SNP motion.
Sir Lindsay, who was first elected as a Labour MP but followed tradition following his election as Speaker by relinquishing his party affiliation, explained that he wanted MPs to have the ‘widest possible range’ of options on what he said was ‘a highly sensitive subject on which feelings are running high’.
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