Frontbencher quits as shadow ministers defy Starmer ahead of ceasefire vote

Yasmin Qureshi confirmed that she would step down as shadow women and equalities minister, ahead of the Commons vote.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has lost another frontbench MP over his stance on Gaza (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
PA Wire
Dominic McGrath15 November 2023
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A Labour shadow minister has quit Sir Keir Starmer’s frontbench and promised to back a ceasefire in a crunch Commons vote.

It comes as three other frontbenchers, Naz Shah, Helen Hayes and Afzal Khan, also broke ranks with their party leader and signalled plans to vote for an SNP amendment to the King’s Speech backing a ceasefire.

Yasmin Qureshi confirmed that she would step down as shadow women and equalities minister, ahead of the Commons vote.

In a post on social media, she said: “The scale of bloodshed in Gaza is unprecedented. Tonight, I will vote for an immediate ceasefire.

“We must call for an end to the carnage to protect innocents lives and end human suffering.

“With regret, I have stepped down as Shadow Women and Equalities Minister.”

Labour frontbenchers are facing the sack if they back the amendment, as Sir Keir bids to avoid a damaging split in his parliamentary party.

Labour MPs have been ordered to abstain on the SNP move and have instead been told to back Sir Keir’s position calling for longer “humanitarian pauses” rather than a ceasefire.

SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn has said Parliament must “show moral leadership” and vote in favour of backing an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Labour frontbenchers who rebel to back a rival amendment would normally face the sack for breaking the party whip.

The resignation by Ms Qureshi comes after Imran Hussain also quit the frontbench earlier this month over Sir Keir’s stance on the Gaza war.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in