City MPs back Palestine recognition plan

Sir Keir Starmer announced yesterday that the UK would recognise Palestinian statehood in September to help revive “the prospect of a two-state solution”.

He stated that Israel must take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation” in Gaza, including agreeing to a ceasefire, committing to a two-state solution, and allowing the United Nations (UN) to deliver aid.

Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision, describing the situation in Gaza as “catastrophic”.

“I have long been making the case for an immediate ceasefire to stop the slaughter, for aid to be let into Gaza, and the immediate release of the hostages.

“There is no way out of this crisis without a route to both Palestinians and Israelis enjoying security, justice and opportunity in lands that they can call their own.”

Amanda Martin, Labour MP for Portsmouth North, also welcomed the announcement and affirmed the UK’s commitment to a credible process towards “lasting peace”.

“The only sustainable resolution lies in a future where both Palestinians and Israelis can live in safety, with justice and opportunity, each within states they can truly call their own.”

The situation

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, over 60,000 Palestinians have been killed since the 7 October attacks. Women, children and the elderly account for 55 per cent of recorded deaths.

The actual death toll is likely significantly higher, as current figures do not include indirect or unrecorded deaths—such as those from malnutrition or bodies trapped under rubble.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a global food security initiative, recently warned that the “worst case scenario of famine is currently playing out in the Gaza Strip”.

A UN agency said it hopes Israel will allow the passage of aid trucks carrying food, medicine and hygiene supplies, which have been blocked for months.

Local criticism

The Portsmouth and South Downs Palestine Solidarity Group (PPSG) has criticised the Labour Party, accusing it of being “complicit” in the “forced starvation of children” and “genocide”.

Since coming to power last year, the Labour government has suspended 30 of the 350 arms export licences to Israel. However, the UK remains a supplier of components for F-35 fighter jets.

The PPSG recently protested outside Stephen Morgan’s office, calling on the government to end arms sales to Israel and prevent more Gazans from starving.

A spokesperson for the PPSC said they “welcomed” the UK’s proposed recognition of Palestine as a state, but argued it was “meaningless” while Palestinian land remains under occupation by a “hostile, heavily armed Israel”.

The spokesperson added that the announcement “rings very hollow” while the UK continues to export arms to Israel.

The group called for a “full two-way arms embargo” and said it was “unconscionable” that IDF soldiers were still being trained in the UK, especially “after the targeting of aid convoys, aid hubs and refugee camps”.

They also accused Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan of dishonesty, saying it was “simply untrue” that he had long pushed for a ceasefire. The group claimed he “refused to vote for a ceasefire in Parliament” and had “avoided all attempts” to engage with local campaigners.

The spokesperson said the recognition of Palestinian statehood should not be treated as “a carrot to be dangled by Keir Starmer over the summer” while civilians continue to die. “The time for words is well behind us,” they said. “Now is the time for meaningful action.”

Stephen Morgan MP has publicly supported a ceasefire in Gaza since 2023. However, he abstained from the SNP November 2023 ceasefire vote and later backed a Labour amendment in February 2024 calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”.

This amendment softened the language of the original SNP motion and was passed without a formal vote, preventing a vote on the SNP’s stronger call for an “immediate ceasefire.”