What happened in the House of Commons tonight?

[Bookridden]

I'm struggling to understand what is going on and would be grateful is someone can explain to me in simple terms.

Why were Labour worried about the safety of MPs?

Why were the SNP unhappy?

Why were the Tories unhappy?

What's likely to happen next?

Are MPs who don't take a Pro-Palestinian stance really putting their lives at risk?

Classic deflection from blossom.
This is labours mess and a total car crash. Nothing to do with any other party. SNP are rightly livid.

@Newchapterbeckons I still don't understand why the Government didn't vote down the Labour amendment so that their own could then be considered .
Can you help me ?

mm - I think Israel does care about votes on this issue.
Hence Starmer's twisting in the wind.

It really isn’t. I’ve never seen such a tribal thread.

A free vote would have dodged a rebellion issue for sure. As nothing to rebel against.
Begs the question of course why he didn't allow a free vote.
Any ideas anyone?

Pro Starmer / Labour won’t look to the cause obviously no surprise there

The pp on whether 100 revolt would have passed by more easily is an interesting one. Starmer should have faced the music rather than urge the speaker to change process

Could a free vote have highlighted that Starmers official line didn't reflect that of the majority of Labour party MPs ?

yep an arrogant assumption
and also sadly naive/out of touch.
Another natural labour voter here who probably won't be able to bring themselves to vote for Starmer's shell.

What it does highlight is Starmer’s weakness. His inability to control his own party and he would rather do anything than face the music on the central issues within his own party. I would have far more respect for him if he actually grasped this nettle.

The Tories' rage (real or pretended) that their petty politicking didn't work is not a good look – particularly given the gravity of the subject.

There was demand from many Labour MPs for a ceasefire motion. They said they would vote for the SNP's flawed version if it was the only one available, but would support a better Labour motion if available. Starmer put forward a better motion; Labour MPs supported it. It's a mini adventure.

Tories are in a rage because they failed in their shenanigans (you put the Right motion, in the Right motion out...) to prevent the Labour motion being available.

They tried to artificially create the appearance that Labour MPs couldn't agree, by procedural manoeuvring to prevent Labour MPs being offered the motion that they did, in fact, agree on.

Now all the Tories have got left is shouting and banging on the table.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/feb/21/commons-speaker-issues-apology-after-gaza-ceasefire-debate-descends-into-chaos
One minister admitted: “We’re not as angry as we’re pretending.”

I doubt he’ll be able to use the speaker each time something difficult comes up. He’ll get there eventually

It is worth reading Hansard to see how events unfolded.

I think perhaps Hoyle naively hoped that the House could reach a consensus on the wording of the motion.

I was listening to Andrew Marr last night. He was saying that the texts and tweets listeners were sending in were almost all supportive of Hoyle.

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-02-21/debates/610A4D12-A333-4885-9D0B-0A225C35C043/CeasefireInGaza

Yeah, totally artificial to expect Labour to follow procedure. 🙄

The game playing here - and in fact much worse than that - was all Labour’s. Done to avoid showing that Starmer doesn’t control his party and that a great many Labour MPs would prefer to vote for a nasty, totally anti-Israel motion than abstain on it by order of Starmer.

Yes, I too think that Hoyle initially believed this was a good faith attempt for the House to work together to pass a serious motion on a serious subject – as the House has done before.

He naively didn't realise it was party-political game-playing, on a subject which, as PP have said, is not a game.

Indeed. And by all the parties. Not one of them comes out of this well.

You do like to spread the muck around when it comes to Labour blossom, and I imagine this will be labour’s downfall - a mindset just like yours. An inability to be accountable, to accept this was a terrible manoeuvre and hold their hands up. To be more honest, more open and more willing to stand up to the scrutiny. I don’t see any values of that kind in the Labour Party. Just lying, deflecting, shady back room deals.

^ this 100%

The shit is going to hit the Labour fan for sure.

Will it cost them the election?

How is saying none of the parties - including Labour - covered themselves in glory not being accountable or holding hands up? Things can be the fault of more than one person or entity. How anyone can accuse Labour of lying, deflecting and shady back room deals with a straight face in the light of the government’s behaviour for the last four years is beyond me.

It might cost Labour the election if Starmer doesn’t deal with it.

Limping on making back room deals clearly isn’t working nor is keeping a lid on his party’s anti Jewish rhetoric which is growing within the party like a cancer.

Not just Labour leaning on the Speaker

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/new-reports-suggest-hoyle-was-lent-on-by-the-tories-369249/

No.

I don’t think there is anything that can cost them the election.

Do give over. None of the other parties have anything to do with it!

Starmer can’t bury this forever, however much he tries.