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MPs are set to hold another debate on a ceasefire in Gaza after the SNP said it would take up the Speaker’s offer following last week’s chaotic scenes in parliament.

It comes after Sir Lindsay Hoyle faced a backlash last week for breaching convention by allowing a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP opposition motion calling for an immediate halt to the fighting.

His move was interpreted by critics as an “overtly political decision” designed to help Sir Keir Starmer fend off a rebellion from his own backbenchers, and there were angry scenes as both SNP and Conservative MPs stormed out of the Commons chamber in protest.

Sir Lindsay denied the claims and insisted the safety of MPs was the main reason for his move.

But he apologised twice and offered to grant an emergency debate on a fresh ceasefire motion in acknowledgement that MPs never got a chance to vote on the SNP’s amendment amid the chaos.

The party’s wording last week called for the release of all hostages held by Hamas, but also accused Israel of the war crime of “collective punishment” of the Palestinian people – which Labour’s amendment did not do.

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What happened in the House of Commons?

On Sunday the SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn confirmed he would take up the debate offer and table a motion this week that will press the Commons to back “concrete actions” to achieve an end to the fighting via pressure at the United Nations.

He said: “More than 29,000 Palestinian children, women and men have been killed, huge swathes of Gaza have been obliterated, and the population faces a worsening humanitarian crisis.

“The SNP will seek to refocus the discussion away from the Westminster circus and on to what really matters – doing everything we can to actually secure an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel.”

Mr Flynn added: “While the appalling spectacle at Westminster has been deeply unedifying, some progress has been made. Public and SNP pressure has forced the next prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, into a U-turn – now we need to work together to force the UK government to change its position too.”

The SNP said it would publish details of its new motion following discussions with the Speaker on the terms of the debate.

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However, it is not clear what the format of the debate will be and if the SNP will be allowed to force a vote.

Sir Lindsay’s offer on Thursday came under the Standing Order 24 rule of the Commons – which grants an emergency debate for MPs to “consider” a topic – which may not be enough to satisfy the party.

More than 70 MPs have signed a no confidence motion in Sir Lindsay following last week’s scenes.

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Speaker sorry over ceasefire vote

Critics of the Speaker included Mr Flynn, who said last week that his position was “untenable” and said he “no longer retains the confidence of SNP MPs”.

Meanwhile a fresh debate on the issue could renew and heighten divisions within Labour over its stance on the war.

Labour’s amendment last week called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” but avoided accusing Israel of war crimes.

Israel has faced growing criticism of its actions in Gaza and there are fears over civilian causalities if it launches a ground offensive in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians have sought refuge.

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Gaza: Moment crowds flee as gunfire heard

More than 29,000 Palestinians have died, according to the Hamas-run healthy ministry in the region, since Israel launched its latest military action in Gaza last year.

It came following Hamas’s attack on 7 October, in which around 1,200 people were killed, including more than 800 civilians, according to Israeli officials.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) last month called on Israel to do everything in its power to prevent acts of genocide in Gaza – but stopped short of ordering an end to its offensive.

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Reform UK overtakes Conservative membership – Nigel Farage calls it ‘historic’, Kemi Badenoch says numbers are ‘fake’

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Reform UK overtakes Conservative membership - Nigel Farage calls it 'historic', Kemi Badenoch says numbers are 'fake'

Reform UK now has more members than the Conservative Party and is “the real opposition” according to Nigel Farage, while Kemi Badenoch has called his numbers “fake”.

According to a digital counter on the party’s website, Reform UK had gone past 131,690 members – the amount the Conservative Party declared before its leadership election in the autumn – just before midday on Boxing Day.

Mr Farage, party leader and MP for Clacton-on-Sea, hailed the “historic moment” and said on X: “The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world. Reform UK are now the real opposition.”

But Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch accused the party of issuing misleading figures: “Manipulating your own supporters at Xmas eh, Nigel?. It’s not real. It’s a fake… [the website has been] coded to tick up automatically.”

Posting on X, she added that the Tories had “gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”.

Reform UK also shared a video of the membership tracker being projected on to the Conservative Party headquarters in London overnight.

Zia Yusuf, party chairman, also said “history has been made today” and that the Tories’ “centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics” has “finally been broken”.

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Mr Farage hit back at Ms Badenoch, who strongly contested Reform UK’s figures. He claimed to have proof and posted a screenshot of an online register reportedly showing ‘active memberships’.

“We understand you are bitter, upset and angry that we are now the second biggest party in British politics, and that the Conservative brand is dying under your leadership. However, this not an excuse to accuse us of committing fraud,” he wrote on X.

Mr Yusuf added to the debate by appearing to goad Ms Badenoch about an audit: “We will gladly invite a Big 4 audit firm to verify our membership numbers on the basis that you do the same.”

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Nigel Farage attends the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt in Chiddingstone.
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Nigel Farage said Reform UK is ‘now the real opposition’ after the ‘historic moment’. Pic: Reuters

The Conservative party membership figure – shared after Kemi Badenoch was announced as the new leader on 2 November – was the lowest on record and a drop from the 2022 leadership contest, when there were around 172,000 members.

In response, a Conservative Party spokesman said: “Reform has delivered a Labour Government that has cruelly cut winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners, put the future of family farming and food security at risk, and launched a devastating raid on jobs which will leave working people paying the price.

“A vote for Reform this coming May is a vote for a Labour council – only the Conservatives can stop this.”

According to research from the House of Commons Library, there is no uniformly recognised definition of party membership and no established method or body to monitor the number of members each political group has.

Reform UK was also originally set up as a limited company, but Mr Farage said he would change the party’s structure to be member-owned in September.

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It comes after Mr Farage offered to help Lord Mandelson, the new ambassador to the US, negotiate with president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

A long-time associate of Mr Trump, he has been seen at several Republican events during and after the presidential election.

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