No Surrey MPs vote in support of ceasefire in Israel-Gaza conflict
Screengrab from Parliament TV, via LDRS
By Emily Coady-Stemp, Local Democracy Reporter
No Surrey MPs voted in Parliament for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.
The vote took place on Wednesday (15 November) on an amendment to the King’s Speech that was put forward by Scottish National Party MPs.
The amendment called for government to “uphold international law and protect all civilians in Israel and Palestine”, to “condemn the horrific killings by Hamas and the taking of hostages” and to “reaffirm that there must be an end to the collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.
It also called for the “urgent release of all hostages and an end to the siege of Gaza to allow vital supplies of food, fuel, medicine and water to reach the civilian population”.
Of Surrey’s 11 MPs, six voted against the amendment, and the other five had no vote recorded.
The decades-long conflict in Israel and Gaza escalated and gained further international scrutiny on 7 October after a Hamas attack on Israel.
The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement remains on the ground supporting those affected and said there were more than 1.5million people displaced in Gaza, with more than 240 Israeli hostages being held.
The situation there was described by the charity as “deeply alarming and worsening every day”.
The King’s speech sets out the priorities for the coming Parliamentary session, and was delivered by King Charles for the first time as monarch on 7 November.
The amendment calling for an immediate ceasefire was lost by 293 votes to 125.
The Labour Party saw eight shadow ministers and two parliamentary private secretaries leave their roles after going against leader Sir Keir Starmer’s order not to vote for the amendment.
Surrey’s MPs were all elected to represent the Conservative Party in Parliament.
Sir Paul Beresford, Chris Grayling and Dominic Raab have announced they will not be standing in the next general election, due to be held before January 2025.
Reigate MP Crispin Blunt confirmed he was the MP arrested on suspicion of rape and the possession of controlled substances on 26 October. He was suspended by the Conservative Party and has been released by Surrey Police on conditional bail.
All the Surrey MP votes are listed in full below:
Sir Paul Beresford (Mole Valley) – No
Crispin Blunt (Reigate) – No vote recorded
Claire Coutinho MP (East Surrey) – No
Michael Gove (Surrey Heath) – No
Chris Grayling MP (Epsom & Ewell) – No
Jeremy Hunt MP (South West Surrey) – No vote recorded
Kwasi Kwarteng (Spelthorne) – No vote recorded
Jonathan Lord (Woking) – No vote recorded
Dominic Raab (Esher and Walton) – No vote recorded
Angela Richardson (Guildford) – No
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) – No
Links
Red Cross appeal page (Opens in a new window) for the Israel-Gaza conflict
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