{"id":120725,"date":"2023-11-03T23:30:23","date_gmt":"2023-11-03T23:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/?p=120725"},"modified":"2023-11-03T23:30:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T23:30:23","slug":"starmer-insists-party-is-united-despite-calls-for-him-to-quit-over-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yourclomid.com\/politics\/starmer-insists-party-is-united-despite-calls-for-him-to-quit-over-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer insists party is united despite calls for him to quit over Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The party leader said he was not focused on the \u201cposition of individuals\u201d as he was grilled on the deepening chaos within Labour.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir was challenged over calls from the leaders of Burnley and Pendle councils urging him to \u201cstep aside\u201d over his refusal to call for a ceasefire in the conflict.<\/p>\n

Mayors Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and 15 frontbenchers are among those who have diverged from the official party line.<\/p>\n

At least 250 councillors have also called for a ceasefire, with around 30 councillors resigning from the party over the leadership\u2019s position on the Israel-Hamas war.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Andy McDonald, has been suspended as a Labour MP, over what the party described as \u201cdeeply offensive\u201d comments at a pro-Palestinian rally.<\/p>\n

Afrasiab Anwar, leader of Burnley Council, told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today programme yesterday that he had tried appealing to the Labour leader but \u201ceverything that we\u2019ve said has not been heard\u201d. He said the call for Sir Keir to quit was a \u201clast resort\u201d.<\/p>\n

Asjad Mahmood, leader of Pendle Borough Council, told the BBC that Sir Keir had \u201cfailed to listen\u201d to calls for a ceasefire to \u201cstop the innocent loss of lives\u201d.<\/p>\n

A poll has found that nearly a fifth of Labour councillors have considered walking away from the party over the Gaza position.<\/p>\n

Sir Keir attempted to shift the agenda with a speech on domestic policy at the North East Chamber of Commerce yesterday but attention soon turned to his stance on the war.<\/p>\n

Asked about calls for him to stand down, he said: \u201cMy focus is on alleviating the awful suffering of all of those that are caught up in the situation that has developed over the last few weeks.<\/p>\n

READ MORE <\/strong> Rishi, practise Tory values and you can still win a General Election<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cWhatever the individual positions of members of my party, that is not my focus. My focus is in driving forward to make sure that all of us can take responsibility for ensuring that we do what we can to alleviate that situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted a humanitarian pause was the \u201conly practical way\u201d to do this.<\/p>\n

On calls for a ceasefire, he added: \u201cTo say to a sovereign country when 200 of its civilians are being held hostage that they must give up their right to self-defence, is not for me the correct position, and anyone who has watched the images in the last two or three days have seen what Hamas is saying about this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked how frustrated he was that his appearance in the North East was overshadowed by calls for him to back a ceasefire, he said: \u201cI am not surprised that people are trying to go for any option that they see would alleviate the awful situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that should be taken as a great division.\u201d<\/p>\n