British lawmakers storm out of parliament opposing Gaza ceasefire vote

Dozens of lawmakers expressed outrage in the British Parliament on Wednesday over efforts by the three major political parties to outbid each other over a vote on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Publication date: 22 February 2024 – 00:43

3 minutes

The uproar follows the Speaker's decision to ignore precedent and allow the opposition Labor Party to hold a vote that would help avoid a mass revolt among its own lawmakers over its position on the Israel-Hamas war.

Lawmakers from the ruling Conservative Party and the opposition Scottish National Party (SNP) left the debate in protest, with some seeking to take the rare step of holding proceedings behind closed doors.

Speaker Lindsay Hoyle ultimately apologized and said she decided to allow lawmakers to vote on diverse views out of concern for their security after some members faced threats of violence over their stance on war.

“It’s unfortunate and I apologize for this decision,” he said. “I didn’t want it to end like this.”

Labor, expected to win a general election later this year, has been embroiled in an internal battle over its policy on the Middle East conflict since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that triggered Israel's invasion of Gaza.

The debate in parliament was initiated by the SNP, which tabled a motion calling for an immediate ceasefire. Labor and the Conservatives, who have supported Israel while expressing concerns about its actions in Gaza, proposed amendments with other conditions they said were needed before a halt to fighting.

In an unusual move, Hoyle chose both amendments for a vote, breaking the precedent that one opposition party cannot change the motion of another. Typically only government amendments are selected.

Some lawmakers mocked the Speaker as he announced his decision. One member of parliament accused Hoyle, a former Labor MP, of creating a “constitutional crisis”.

Penny Mordaunt, the government's leader in the House of Commons, said Hoyle had undermined parliament and the government had halted proceedings.

‘British politics at its worst’

Hoyle's decision meant Labor MPs could vote on their party's plans and avoid the need to override their leadership by supporting SNP motions.

Amid the confusion, Labor's amendment was eventually approved orally, without a formal vote recording the views of individual members. Some lawmakers called for a re-vote because their opinions were not reflected.

The results are likely not binding on the British government or closely watched by Israel or Hamas, but were likely to cause problems for Starmer, who has sought to portray his party as united, disciplined and ready to take power.

“It is disgraceful, it is very disgraceful. Today we have seen British politics at its worst,” Hasam Zumlot, the Palestinian ambassador to Britain, told LBC radio.

Outside parliament, hundreds of protesters called on lawmakers for a ceasefire while the debate took place.

The Labor leader said he was reluctant to support the SNP because it condemned “collective punishment” against the Palestinian people and did not specify that Israel and Hamas must respect the ceasefire.

On a similar motion tabled by the SNP last November, Starmer suffered the biggest revolt of his leadership.

The Labor leader initially gave full support to Israel as it launched military retaliation. But Labor MPs and party members are putting pressure on the leadership to support an immediate ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas have resisted growing international pressure to halt the war that has destroyed large swathes of Gaza and caused a humanitarian catastrophe, now in its fifth month, and have rejected each other's terms of a ceasefire.

(Reuters)

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