Sir Keir Starmer facing fresh Labour revolt over second Gaza ceasefire vote
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Sir Keir Starmer is facing a fresh revolt from his party as the Commons prepares to vote for a second time on a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Labour leader will have to fight off more unrest among his frontbenchers and MPs after the SNP pledged to force another ballot on a truce.
It means that he faces yet another internal battle over Israel at a time when tensions are running high within the party following the anti-Semitism row in Rochdale.
Sir Keir is facing fierce criticism from the Left after he was forced to suspend two parliamentary candidates over their anti-Israel remarks.
The SNP is set to use one of its opposition days in Parliament to call a debate and vote on a ceasefire in Gaza, which is slated to be held next Wednesday.
Stephen Flynn MP, the Scottish party’s leader, said: “The time for equivocating is over. Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer must back an immediate ceasefire now.
“The UK parliament cannot just sit on its hands and do nothing. International pressure is paramount if an immediate ceasefire is to happen and the UK has a moral duty to do its part.”
The move is designed to poke at the wounds within Labour, which is threatening to take dozens of seats off the SNP at the next general election.
Sir Keir was rocked by a huge rebellion the last time the Commons voted on a ceasefire, losing 10 members of his frontbench who quit.
In total, 56 Labour MPs - more than a quarter of the entire parliamentary party - defied his orders to cast their ballots in favour of an immediate truce.
Whilst it is unlikely he will lose any more shadow ministers, next week’s vote will once again inflame tensions within his party and put its divisions on full display.
It came as Labour admitted it had been forced to speak to a third politician over the meeting which sparked the anti-Semitism crisis engulfing the party.
Officials said they had “spoken to” Munsif Dad, a Labour councillor in Hyndburn, about his attendance at a controversial October 31 gathering.
It is understood the conversation with Mr Dad was about ascertaining what happened at the gathering rather than any specific comments he made.
Sir Keir was forced to suspend Azhar Ali, his candidate in Rochdale, on Monday after it emerged he had allegedly made a string of anti-Semitic comments at the meeting.
Mr Ali is said to have spread a conspiracy theory about Israel deliberately allowing the October 7 attacks and railed against Jewish people in the media.
Less than 24 hours later, the Labour leader had to suspend Graham Jones, who had been selected to contest Hyndburn, in Lancashire, at the next general election.
At the same gathering, held on October 31, Mr Jones had reportedly referred to “f----ing Israel” and said Brits who fight for the Israeli Defence Forces should be “locked up”.
The revelations have raised concerns within the party over whether its vetting rules for new candidates are being applied robustly enough.
It can be revealed that Labour issued new guidance for the selection of MP hopefuls just a few months ago that tells officials to prioritise diversity.
The guidance, published in October, says that the party’s ruling body can intervene if shortlists of candidates are not considered suitably diverse.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, admitted that Labour is “not a party of people who are saints” as he defended Sir Keir’s handling of the crisis.
Some Labour MPs have accused their leader of being too slow to act against Mr Ali, who he initially supported despite the emergence of his alleged anti-Semitic remarks.
Mr Healey admitted he could not “guarantee no one connected to the party will say something wrong or unacceptable” but said Sir Keir had responded decisively.
In a sign of the public pressure Labour is under, an attack poster was put up in the east London constituency of Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, attacking its Gaza stance.
Taped to a bus stop near Gants Hill tube station in Ilford, it depicted a box on a ballot paper with a black cross in it alongside the phrase: “Vote for genocide, Vote Labour”.
It came as a new poll showed Labour’s lead over the Tories had already plummeted by seven points in the run-up to the crisis in Rochdale.
The survey by Savanta, conducted in the aftermath of the U-turn on Sir Keir’s £28bn green pledge, put Labour on 41pc and the Tories on 29pc.
It means the party’s lead is at its narrowest out of every Savanta poll so far this year, while its vote share is at its lowest since June 2023.
