The SNP’s request for a second debate on a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza has been denied by Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle.
The Speaker stated that he would not permit an emergency debate on Gaza, as the government is set to make a “relevant statement” tomorrow February 27.
Aside from the debate, the party also called for an investigation into the confusion surrounding the Gaza ceasefire vote last week.
Last week, tensions rose when the SNP left the chamber in frustration after Sir Lindsay chose a Labour amendment for their opposition debate, which called for a humanitarian ceasefire.
This denial of another debate on the matter is likely to provoke further discontent from the SNP, as 70 MPs signed an early-day motion expressing no confidence in the speaker, introduced by a Tory MP.
Shadow Digital Minister Sir Chris Bryant, revealed that Labour figures encouraged a disruption in parliamentary proceedings last Wednesday, February 21 to provide Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with an opportunity to persuade Sir Lindsay to allow a vote on Labour’s amendment to the SNP’s motion for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict.
The SNP accused Labour of using “every dirty trick in the Westminster book” to prevent the vote.
According to parliamentary tradition, the Labour amendment would typically not have been subjected to a vote since the SNP was leading the opposition day debate.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle explained that he ultimately allowed the Labour amendment to proceed to a vote to ensure that MPs, who were facing significant pressure from their constituents regarding the conflict, could cast their votes without concerns for their safety.
However, SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn accused Sir Lindsay of favoring his former party, Labour, by allowing their amendment during what was supposed to be the SNP’s allocated debate time.
Flynn had gone further to call for Sir Lindsay’s removal from his position as Commons speaker, expressing the SNP’s loss of confidence in him.
Contrary to allegations, Sir Keir Starmer refuted claims of threatening Sir Lindsay with removal as speaker following the general election to secure passage of Labour’s amendment.
Calls For An Investigation Into The Gaza Vote Scandal
On Monday, February 26, the SNP demanded a “full, independent investigation” into why Labour was able to “deliberately wreck” the SNP’s motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The question arose regarding Sir Chris’s actions during a parliamentary debate.
Specifically, it was inquired whether he was acting independently or if someone else had influenced him to engage in filibustering while Sir Keir was away.
He said, “A bit of both, if I’m honest.”
Sir Chris added: “I think the whole day was grubby, and we need a system that doesn’t allow people to manipulate the rules to be able to get what they want.”
When confronted with the irony of his actions, Sir Chris responded with a laugh, acknowledging the contradiction.
The SNP cited a string of “damning” revelations over the weekend, alleging that Sir Keir took advantage of the time created by Labour’s filibustering to intrude into a meeting with the Speaker, Sir Lindsay, without invitation, just before Sir Lindsay permitted a vote on the SNP’s amendment.
The Cabinet Office spokesperson for the party, Kirsty Blackman, stated, “After months of opposing an immediate ceasefire, and even defending Israel’s right to withhold water and power from Gaza, it’s shameful that Starmer sought to derail this important debate – with his party filibustering, bullying the speaker, and seeking to water down the motion by removing any mention of the collective punishment of the people in Gaza.”
“Starmer’s party has been caught red-handed following the admission by Chris Bryant. There must now be a full, independent investigation into the appalling behaviour of Keir Starmer and his colleagues, who are no better than the Tories when it comes to manipulating the broken Westminster system.”
Kirsty Blackman
In the aftermath of last Wednesday’s events, pressure mounted on Sir Lindsay, with accusations that he assisted Sir Keir in averting a potentially harmful rebellion over the Middle East issue by selecting Labour’s amendment.
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