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Sir Keir Starmer is braced for resignations from his frontbench as he holds a difficult vote on the Israel-Gaza war. 

The Labour leadership has drawn up an amendment, circulated to MPs last night, to allow a vote on the growing crisis in the Middle East.

It does not call for a ceasefire, as dozens of Labour MPs – including members of the frontbench – have demanded.

Follow live: Inflation boost for Sunak after Braverman accusations

However, the amendment is intended to move closer to this position, by calling for “longer” humanitarian pauses in fighting to allow in aid, which shadow minister Lisa Nandy conceded could be days or even weeks.

A senior figure told Sky News the wording suggested “a ceasefire in all but name”, although Labour rejected this.

The amendment also condemns the conduct of the war by both sides; and highlights the need to protect hospitals from attacks, as well as calling for Israel to end its siege of the territory.

It unequivocally condemns the terrorist attacks on 7 October and says Israel has a right to defend its citizens from terrorism.

Those calling for a ceasefire include 19 shadow ministers and aides, who must back the Labour Party’s position.

Labour sources said any who voted for a separate amendment from the Scottish National Party backing a ceasefire would have to resign or face the sack.

They are not all expected to resign, and the shadow cabinet – Sir Keir‘s top team – are all expected to back the amendment.

Meetings were going on late on Tuesday night to talk around some of those wavering.

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WHO official calls for ‘cessation of hostilities’

One shadow minister, Imran Hussain, has already resigned. Others on resignation watch include shadow home office ministers Jess Phillips and Naz Shah.

Some Labour backbenchers have vowed to back other amendments which do call for a ceasefire.

Sir Keir explained his position in a speech two weeks ago, saying he understood the strong feelings many had for a ceasefire, but that it was the wrong decision as it would “embolden Hamas” and allow them to regroup and carry out more horrific attacks like those on 7 October.

But he has faced intense pressure from some of his MPs, who have been horrified by the scenes unfolding in Gaza, where Israel is carrying out a military campaign to destroy Hamas.

Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy, when he addressed MPs on Tuesday in the House of Commons said, in a shift in tone: “Israel must make changes to the way it is fighting this war, by taking urgent, concrete steps to protect civilians”.

At a difficult meeting of the parliamentary Labour Party on Monday night, Sky News understands a number of MPs spoke out.

Read more on Sky News:
Supreme Court will rule on the government’s Rwanda plan today – why has it ended up in the courts?
‘Please make it stop… they are here’: Horrifying details of how the Kibbutz Be’eri attack unfolded

One MP later said: “The leadership have been slow to realise the scale of this. They thought it was the very left of the party, and MPs with a lot of Muslim constituents, but it’s an issue for a lot of our liberal voters too.

“They see pictures of premature babies dying because Gaza’s hospitals can’t run the incubators, and they want us to be taking a different position.”

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The MP said there was an understanding that implementing a ceasefire on the ground could take weeks to broker.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Labour’s amendment reaffirms the position set out in Keir Starmer’s Chatham House speech and reflects our concerns about what we’ve seen on the ground in the last fortnight which includes the lack of hostage release, the insufficient amount of aid and utilities getting in and being distributed, the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza and the amount of violence on the West Bank.”

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering ‘changes’ to ISAs – and says there’s too much focus on ‘risk’ in investing

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves considering 'changes' to ISAs - and says there's too much focus on 'risk' in investing

The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.

In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.

She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.

However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.

In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”

She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”

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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma

Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).

She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.

“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.

Read more:
Should you get Lifetime ISA? Two key issues to consider
Building societies protest against proposed ISA reforms
Is there £15bn of wiggle room in Reeves’s fiscal rules?

Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.

On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.

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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job

In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”

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The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.

“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.

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Crypto-backed group gathers $141M funding to influence US elections

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Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Crypto-backed group gathers 1M funding to influence US elections

Fairshake reported raising $52 billion from the crypto industry in the first half of 2025, at a time when candidates previously supported by the PAC were providing crucial votes.

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

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Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation is the missing key to DeFi’s legal future

Programmable regulation could be the solution to legacy regulatory frameworks struggling to keep pace with DeFi’s rapidly evolving ecosystems. Embedding compliance in code can bring legal clarity, reduce risk and foster innovation in DeFi.

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