Labour MPs could be forced to vote on whether to hold a public inquiry into the UK’s involvement in Israeli military operations in Gaza, if recent manoeuvring by Jeremy Corbyn pays-off. On Wednesday (4 June) the former Labour leader, who now sits as an Independent MP, has secured a Ten-Minute Rule Bill calling for an “independent public inquiry” into the UK’s “military, economic, or political cooperation with Israel since October 2023”. Corbyn will address the Commons on Wednesday – straight after PMQs.
According to Corbyn, the UK must hold an independent public inquiry into its actions in Gaza as “Israel has not been committing war crimes against the Palestinian people by itself”. He added: “transparency and accountability are cornerstones of democracy – and the public deserves to know the full scale of the UK’s complicity in crimes against humanity”. Plenty would question whether a public inquiry is the right way to do this – they are expensive and can take years to report. But the intention of Corbyn’s bill is not simply to convene an inquiry, but to hold Keir Starmer’s feet to the fire.
A Ten-Minute Rule motion allows a backbench MP to make his or her case for a new bill in a speech. While they are unlikely to become law, they are often used by MPs to take the temperature of the House of Commons on an issue. These bills are mostly waived through, with little opposition and are then passed to the government, who determine whether to give it more parliamentary time (more often than not, the government declines to progress ten-minute rule bills due to scheduling issues).
However, it is rumoured that at least two Conservative MPs will vote against the bill – to do so, they will shout “no” after it is presented by Corbyn on Wednesday afternoon. This will force the bill through to a vote of all MPs who will then collectively decide whether it can progress to a second reading. If this is the case, it is easy to assume that government whips will order Labour MPs to abstain, or even to vote against it.
Though consensus around Gaza has shifted (perhaps most signalled by Starmer co-signing a statement with the leaders of Canada, and France strongly opposing Israel’s military operations in Gaza on 19 May) it is unlikely that the government would urge its MPs to vote for a bill tabled by Corbyn. It is unclear what the consequences would be for those MPs who vote for it but going by this Government’s track-record on rebellions (see the two-child benefit cap) the consequences could be significant.
Some Labour MPs have already come out in support of the bill. Brian Leishman, the MP for Grangemouth and Alloa (and a co-sponsor of the bill) told me “the UK has questions to answer regarding our involvement in the genocide being perpetrated by Benjamin Netanyahu’s government”. He added: “The British people deserve and need to know what our country’s role has been in the attempted extermination of the Palestinian people by this abominable Israeli government.”
What this scenario makes clear, however, is that the pressure is rising on the government over the ongoing war in Gaza. And concerned MPs on the left of the party, and in parliament, are unlikely to back down.
[See more: Andy Burnham has made his leadership pitch]
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