UK Labour leader faces rebellion as parliament votes down motion calling for Gaza ceasefire

The UK parliament votes down a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, with the resolution defeated 293-168.

Following the vote, Labour leader Keir Starmer was hit by a string of resignations from his frontbench in the House of Commons after facing a rebellion from his MPs over his refusal to back the motion.

Eight of Starmer’s frontbenchers who supported the amendment resigned from the frontbench. Labour MPs had been ordered to abstain on the vote and were told instead to back Starmer’s position calling for longer “humanitarian pauses,” rather than a ceasefire.

Starmer says he regrets that party colleagues had not backed his position, but that he wanted to be clear about where he stood.

“Much more needs to be done in this regard to ease the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in Gaza,” he says in a statement after the vote. “Leadership is about doing the right thing. That is the least the public deserves. And the least that leadership demands.”