Tory and SNP anger as Speaker breaks convention to allow Labour Gaza vote

Sir Keir has hardened his stance towards Israel’s invasion in recent days to call for an immediate ceasefire dependent on Hamas vowing to lay down its arms

Sir Lindsay Hoyle sparked fury among Tories and the SNP after breaking with convention to allow a vote on Labour’s call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Commons speaker broke tradition to allow a vote on Sir Keir Starmer’s amendment to an SNP motion, which itself called for an end to the bloody conflict.

There was little difference between the Labour and SNP motions, but Sir Keir had been warned he faced the biggest rebellion of his leadership if MPs were not offered a vote on Labour’s amendment.

Under significant pressure from constituents, and amid frustration at the Labour Party’s approach to the conflict in Gaza, tens of Sir Keir’s MPs were prepared to rebel against the leader and back the SNP’s calls for a ceasefire.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has had his amendment to the SNP’s Gaza ceasefire motion chosen (Dan Kitwood/PA) (PA Wire)

But, in what his top adviser called a “departure from the long-established convention”, Sir Lindsay allowed MPs to vote on three motions addressing the conflict, by the SNP, Labour and Rishi Sunak’s government.

And, after Sir Keir saw off a threatened rebellion of his own MPs, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said his party would back Labour’s amendment to the ceasefire motion

Amid a tense debate in the Commons:

• Sir Keir avoided a mass rebellion of his MPs after Sir Lindsay Hoyle broke convention to allow a vote on a Labour ceasefire motion
• SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said his party would back Labour’s amendment to the ceasefire motion, making it more likely be supported
• Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy declared: “The time for a ceasefire has come.” 
• Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside Parliament to call for a ceasefire in Gaza
• A Tory former minister said he will vote for any motion calling for an immediate ceasefire, because "the time has come"
• A senior Conservative MP tabled a motion expressing no confidence in Commons speaker Sir Lindsay 
• A Left-wing Labour MP said his name had been added to the party’s ceasefire amendment without his consent
• British-Palestinian Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran said members of her family remain trapped in a church in northern Gaza

Sir Lindsay was met with howls of “shame” and “bring back [former Commons speaker John] Bercow” from Tory and SNP MPs, who felt he had sided with Labour in order to let Sir Keir save face.

MPs will now be allowed to vote on Labour’s position, followed by the SNP’s and the government’s, meaning Labour MPs facing pressure in their constituencies can vote for a ceasefire in Gaza without rebelling against Sir Keir.

Sir Lindsay said it was a “highly sensitive subject” on which “feelings are running high”.

“I think it is important on this occasion that the House is able to consider the widest possible range of options,” he said.

Sir Lindsay added: “I have therefore decided to select the amendments both in the name of the prime minister and in the name of the leader of the opposition.”

Sir Lindsay denied being strong-armed into the move by senior Labour figures, but Tory and SNP MPs suspect the Commons speaker, and former Labour MP, chose to let Sir Keir off the hook.

And Tory MP William Wragg, chairman of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, tabled a so-called early day motion saying: “That this house has no confidence in Mr Speaker.” Tory MP Dr Luke Evans said he had seen Sir Keir mouthing “thank you” to Sir Lindsay.

Sir Lindsay’s top adviser Tom Goldsmith had advised the Speaker against giving MPs a vote on Labour’s amendment, saying it represented a “departure from the long-established convention”.

The Clerk of the House said he recognised the Speaker’s discredtion and that he was “motivated by giving the House the widest choice of decisions”.

But he added: “ I know that you understand why I feel compelled to point out that long-established conventions are not being followed in this case.”

Sir Keir has hardened his stance on Israel’s invasion in recent days to join the SNP in calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Labour submitted an amendment to the SNP’s motion which also called for a ceasefire, but stopped short of accusing Israel of “collective punishment” and stressed that Israel “cannot be expected to cease fighting if Hamas continues with violence”.

Sir Keir’s approach was thrown into jeopardy hours before the looming vote when the government tabled its own amendment – which under typical parliamentary procedure would supercede Labour’s, leaving his MPs with the choice of either backing the SNP, Tories, or abstaining on calls for a ceasefire.

But, in a huge relief for Sir Keir, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay announced that, in an “exceptional” move, MPs will be given the chance to vote on Labour’s amendments.

In an impassioned plea for all parties to back Labour’s amendment, Mr Lammy said: “Let us be clear, whether it is the government benches, whether it is the opposition benches, all of us agree the time for a ceasefire has come.

“To end the bloodshed and suffering, to allow a sustained effort to salvage the hope of a two state solution.”

And during the debate, former Tory leadership candidate Rehman Chishti indicated he would vote for the Labour and SNP motions. He told MPs: “I will be voting for motions which call for immediate humanitarian ceasefire, or which call for immediate ceasefire, because the time has come, if not now then when?"

And Lib Dem Ms Moran said members of her family remain trapped in a church in northern Gaza as she pressed for a ceasefire and a two-state solution.

She told the Commons: “I believe sincerely that this House is moving towards a right decision ... can we please try and send a message to the Palestinian people perishing in their tens of thousands on the ground, and to those hostage families, that fundamentally we need this to stop now and I don’t care what we call it.”

Former minister and ex-defence committee chief Tobias Ellwood slammed the lack of consensus between parties on the conflict, saying the ceasefire debate had been turned “into a political football”.

“Shame on us for failing to find common ground. What a wasted opportunity to exhibit UK leadership and resolve in seeking to get closer to the very objective that we came here to debate,” he said.

Sir Keir has been facing growing pressure from his own MPs to back a ceasefire in Gaza, having appeared in recent days to be outflanked to the left by foreign secretary David Cameron, with his shift in stance last weekend then arguably overshadowed by Prince William’s surprise intervention calling for urgent peace.