Liz Kendall gears up to face off welfare rebellion
There are some encouraging signs. Meg Hillier, the Labour veteran who sponsored the initial rebel amendment, has now withdrawn it following £3 billion in concessions. However, Rachael Maskell, a serial soft left critic, has stepped into the breach and is now putting forward her own amendment to effectively kill the Bill. Hillier boasted up to 126 names; Maskell has 35 MPs backing her. Organisers suggest more names will follow but it is still some way short of the 83 required to overturn the government's majority. Notably, the amendment raises new concerns about the changes and is backed by 138 disability groups.
Both rebels and government MPs believe that Kendall's Bill will pass tonight. But it is noticeable that the blame game for this disaster has already begun. On LBC's Cross Questions last night, Charlotte Nichols – who signed Hillier's initial amendment – made a point of defending the whips' office. She went to lengths to praise their behaviour, unlike, she suggested, certain individuals in the parliamentary machine and the political operation of Numbers 10 and 11. Expect heads to roll over this debacle at some point down the line.
For the parliamentary geeks, the question is how big the rebellion will be. Academic Philip Cowley has helpfully crunched the numbers. Tonight's vote looks set to smash the number of 16 MPs who defied the whip during the Planning and Infrastructure Bill last month – making it the biggest rebellion of Starmer's premiership thus far. Tony Blair's biggest rebellion in his first year was the 47 MPs who rebelled in 1997 over Lone Parent benefit.
The minister responsible then was Harriet Harman, who ended up losing her job the following year. Her special adviser at the time? None other than Liz Kendall. She will be hoping to fare better than her old boss when it comes to reshuffle time.
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Spectator
14 minutes ago
- Spectator
Starmer to recognise a Palestinian state
Following a lengthy cabinet meeting this afternoon, No. 10 announced that the UK is prepared to follow France in recognising a Palestinian state in September. Keir Starmer intends to press ahead with this plan unless three conditions are met: that Israel takes substantive steps and reaches a ceasefire, makes clear that there will be no annexation of the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process to deliver a two-state solution. Given that Israel is currently unlikely to commit to any, let alone all three, of these conditions, British recognition of Palestine now looks inevitable. The official Downing Street read-out of today's session stretches to 664 words. That is a testament to the anger and anguish which this issue is causing in both the Labour party and in government. Today's announcement has looked likely since Friday, when more than 130 of Starmer's own MPs signed a letter demanding recognition. That rising political pressure reflects domestic opinion hardening on Gaza. The Prime Minister told the cabinet today that 'the recent images of starvation had deeply affected the British public and underscored the increasingly intolerable situation.' Starmer stressed both the importance of aid getting into the region and the extent to which British action was being undertaken in a multilateral spirit. David Lammy, the foreign secretary, updated his colleagues on work being done on this aspect with both Jordan and the UAE. An assessment will be carried out ahead of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in September; given Israel's current posture, this looks likely to be a mere rubber-stamping of British recognition. Out of the 193 UN member states, 147 already recognise Palestine as a state – including Russia, China, India, Spain, Ireland and Norway. In six weeks' time, the UK and France are set to become the first G7 countries to do the same. Israel's historic relationship with both Germany and the United States mean that neither of those countries will likely ever follow suit. But in Canada, Mark Carney is under some pressure to do so; Italy's Giorgia Meloni has thus far dismissed such calls. Benjamin Netanyahu has remained defiant, gambling that as long as he enjoys American support, he need not pay too much heed to the international community. But Starmer's announcement today follows some striking criticism of Israel yesterday by Donald Trump, in which the US President said there was 'real starvation' in Gaza – despite the claims of Netanyahu's administration. In Whitehall, Trump's remarks at that press conference were interpreted as a cautious amber-light to Starmer, enabling him to proceed with UK recognition of Palestine. Britain's role in impacting the outcome of the war in Gaza has been grossly overestimated by some on the Labour benches. But today's decision could be important in offering a useful reminder to the Israeli government on how opinion is changing both in London and in Washington too.
ITV News
14 minutes ago
- ITV News
UK will recognise state of Palestine unless Israel ends 'appalling situation' in Gaza
The Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the UK will recognise Palestine as a state by September's UN general assembly meeting, unless Israel takes significant steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and end the drawn out conflict. Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, Starmer set out the work that needs to be done between now and then, to prevent the UK from taking this step, including a huge increase in the supply of aid. In an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, Starmer said the UK will join France in recognising the state of Palestine "unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term sustainable peace, reviving the prospect of a two-state solution". In recent days, the PM has faced pressure from political opponents, as well as those in his own party, after 255 MPs from nine seperate parties wrote a letter calling on the UK to act faster in recognising Palestine's statehood. Last week, Starmer issued his strongest words yet on the worsening situation in the Middle-East and Tuesday's announcement calls with UK allies France and Germany and talks with the US President Donald Trump in Scotland this week. The plan announced on Tuesday follows an emergency Cabinet meeting in Downing street, which ministers dialled into from their recess breaks. After the meeting, No 10 briefed Labour MPs on what was discussed. In recent days ministers have maintained the position that Labour will recognise Palestine as a state, as promised in their election manifesto - it was just a question of when. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the prime minister said: "The suffering must end. "I've always said that we will recognise a Palestinian state as a contribution to a proper peace process at the moment of maximum impact for the two state solution. "With that solution now under threat, this is the moment to act." Experts have warned the amount of aid reaching the people of Gaza is a miniscule amount compared to what is needed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis. Starmer said he discussed this with President Trump, adding the UK was "mounting a major effort to get humanitarian supplies back in. "We need to see at least 500 trucks entering Gaza every day," he added. The prime minister's announcement stops somewhat short of immediate recognition and is contingent on Israel failing to take the steps outlined by Starmer. These include: Allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid, committing to no annexations in the West Bank, agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to a long term sustainable peace. Should Israel meet these commitments, the progress of which will be assessed in September, Starmer appeared to suggest the UK would not immediately recognise the state of Palestine, with the prospect of a more mutual two state solution now revived. Speaking on the UK's expectations of Hamas, Starmer reiterated: "They must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm, and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza." The prime minister's announcement comes the same day as Gaza's Health Authority brought the death toll up to over 60,000 Palestinians in the 21-month conflict. Adding to this number, over night Israeli strikes killed more than two dozen people, mostly women and children, according to health officials. About 1,000 of these people have been killed by Israeli fire while seeking aid since May, according to witnesses, health officials and the UN human rights office. Israel, which controls large areas of Gaza where aid is distributed, says it has only fired warning shots at those who approach its forces. Last week, experts warned the remaining population of Gaza is dangerously close to starvation, something Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied before being rebuffed by both Starmer and Trump. Speaking from his golf resort, Donald Trump said his first priority was getting food to the people of Gaza, with Starmer saying the British public were revolted by the scenes they were seeing, calling them a humanitarian crisis. Whilst the US President stopped short of stating his own postition on Palestinian statehood he did say he "didn't mind if he takes one," on Starmer's own stance.
Metro
14 minutes ago
- Metro
UK to recognise state of Palestine in September 'unless Israel ends suffering'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The UK will recognise the state of Palestine in September, Keir Starmer has announced – but only if Israel fails to satisfy a number of conditions. His decision came after a meeting with the cabinet this afternoon, and ahead of a speech by Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the UN in New York. Starmer said official recognition from the UK would come before the United Nations General Assembly in two months time if 'substantive steps' were not taken by the Israeli government. They include moving to end the 'appalling situation in Gaza', agreeing to a ceasefire, and committing to a 'long-term sustainable peace' which would lead to a two-state solution. It would also involve allowing UN workers into Gaza to distribute aid and 'making clear that there will be no annexations in the West Bank'. The Prime MInister said: 'Meanwhile, our message to the terrorists of Hamas is unchanged but unequivocal: they must immediately release all of the hostages, sign up to a ceasefire, disarm and accept that they will play no part in the government of Gaza. 'And we'll make an assessment in September on how far the parties have met these steps, but no one should have a veto over our decision. More Trending 'So this is the way forward.' To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The move comes after Starmer came under intense pressure to recognise Palestinian statehood from top Labour figures including Sadiq Khan and some top figures in his cabinet. They reportedly included Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and Health Secretary Wes Streeting. More than a third of MPs in the House of Commons have also signed a letter to the Prime Minister calling for recognition. In 1949, a year after it declared independence, the UN admitted Israel as a member. It was not until 1988 that Palestinian statehood was recognised by any UN member states, after the Palestinian National Council formally declared independence. Today, 147 of the UN's 193 member states recognise Palestine, including the vast majority of the countries in Asia, Africa and South America. The UK, US, Canada, Germany, Japan, Australia and New Zealand are among the nations that do not. For several British governments, both Labour and Conservative, the position has remained the same: recognition would wait until it was deemed most appropriate for the peace process. Israel has argued that making the move at the moment would mean rewarding Hamas for the deadly terror attack on October 7 2023. But countries in support of recognition say it is a clear step towards the two-state solution that would consider Israel and Palestine as sovereign countries on equal terms. Got a story? Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ Or you can submit your videos and pictures here. For more stories like this, check our news page. Follow on Twitter and Facebook for the latest news updates. You can now also get articles sent straight to your device. Sign up for our daily push alerts here. MORE: My family are starving – so I made a desperate offer via Facebook MORE: Tech secretary suggests Nigel Farage is on side of Jimmy Savile over online law MORE: You can buy a Maga hat for £55 and a £30 teddy at Trump's Turnberry golf course
