More than 250 MPs call on Keir Starmer to recognise Palestine
Starmer is coming under severe pressure to recognise the state of Palestine after France pledged to do so in September.
The letter has been put together ahead of a UN conference this week in New York, with signatories stating their expectation is "the UK Government outlining when and how it will act on its long-standing commitment on a two-state solution".
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It adds the UK recognising Palestinian statehood "would have a significant impact" due to historic connections and the UK's membership of the UN Security Council.
The majority of those who have signed are Labour MPs.
BREAKING: 255 MPs, from 9 parties, have sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister & Foreign Secretary urging them to recognise Palestine as a state now 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Mx5qm5fMTK — Sarah Champion (@SarahChampionMP) July 28, 2025
Champion posted on Twitter/X: "255 MPs, from 9 parties, have sent a joint letter to the Prime Minister & Foreign Secretary urging them to recognise Palestine as a state now."
The state of Palestine is recognised by 147 of the 193 members of the United Nations, but the UK is not one of them.
On Monday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds squirmed around questions about when the UK would recognise a Palestinian state.
Reynolds said Labour would, 'if it delivers the breakthrough that we need', which has long been the party's position.
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He told Sky News that ministers "want to" and "will" recognise [[Palestine]].
But he then said: "The question is, how can we use that in a way that gives a genuine breakthrough to a real peaceful process?
'I know many countries around the world have already done this. To be frank, to be candid, it hasn't stopped the appalling scenes that we're talking about this morning."
Asked whether Palestine would be recognised in this parliament, Reynolds appeared to skirt around the question saying: "In this parliament, yes. I mean, if it delivers the breakthrough that we need.
'But don't forget, we can only do this once. If we do it in a way which is tokenistic, doesn't produce the end to this conflict, where do we go to next?"
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