A member of parliament from Manchester has stepped down from the Labour front bench to vote for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Afzal Khan, MP from Gorton, was the Shadow Minister for Exports but announced that he has resigned from that post to vote in favour of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The Scottish National Party pushed for this vote following a rise in tensions in Gaza on Wednesday, November 15.
In response, Keir Starmer, leader of Labour, said this vote was divisive and told party members they must not vote for the motion.
Afzal Khan, who has been present in demos asking for a ceasefire, said: “As a long-standing supporter of peace in Palestine and Israel, I cannot pass up any opportunity to support calls for a ceasefire.”
He added: “Many thousands of my constituents in Manchester Gorton have been in touch to support ceasefire calls, and I would be doing them a disservice to vote no or abstain.”
Along with him, other prominent members of Labour’s front bench also stepped down, such as Jess Phillips who stepped down from the post of Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding Minister.
The conflict between Gaza and Israel started on October 7, when members of a Palestinian terrorist organisation, Hamas, attacked visitors of a music festival in Israel.
Israel’s military and Hamas have since escalated the conflict, which has trickled into a rise of anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia in the UK.
Protests and demos demanding a ceasefire in this conflict have been present on the streets of major UK cities – and two votes for the same have also been held in the UN.
Along with his public statement, Afzal Khan told MM: “Since 7th October, Israel has crossed every red line imaginable and broken numerous international humanitarian laws.
“With over 11,000 Gazans killed, supporting a full and immediate ceasefire is the very least we can do.”
Khan said he will continue serving the Labour Party as the MP for Manchester Gorton but will do so from the backbench.
