Tonight, a motion will be put forward in Parliament to support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.  I intend to vote for this motion.  This does not align with the position of the Labour frontbench.  Therefore, with regret, I have resigned as Shadow Equalities Minister, and I will return to the backbenches.

We must call for an end to the carnage to protect innocent lives and end human suffering.  It is the only secure and reliable option to ensure humanitarian aid reaches those who desperately need it.

More must be done to address the humanitarian catastrophe and advance moves towards a political solution for Israel and Palestine that brings freedom, prosperity, and security.

I have voted with my conscience and on behalf of the thousands of constituents who have written to me in the last few weeks.

My resignation letter in plain text:

Dear Keir,

It is with deep regret that I am writing to resign from my role as a Shadow Minister.

I supported your leadership bid in 2020 and it has been a pleasure to serve as part of your wider team in two different roles, most recently as Shadow Women and Equalities Minister, with the brilliant Anneliese Dodds, and prior to that as Shadow International Development Minister. I am proud to have worked hard on a range of policy areas, namely the feminist development policy, introducing flexible working in the workplace, our commitment to championing women’s health, and to create a more equal society for everyone to thrive in.

As a country, we were united in revulsion and grief at the atrocities committed against Israeli civilians by Hamas on 7th October. There can be no justification for the massacre of 1,400 people and the subsequent hostages taken.

The acts of Hamas cannot, however, justify what UN Secretary General Guterres described as “the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.” I know from my own experience as a barrister and from working on UN efforts to rebuild Kosovo, that international law leaves no room for ambiguity. There are no circumstances in which collective punishment is permissible.

The scale of the bloodshed is unprecedented. That over 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in a month should be grounds enough to shake us all to our moral core. The UN warned that Gaza has become a ‘graveyard for children,’ as 4,609 of those killed were children. According to Save the Children, this figure surpasses the total number of children killed across the world’s conflict zones since 2019. This is a hideous stain on our common humanity.

The UN reported that over 50% of housing units have been destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. Entire generations of families have been wiped out. Refugee camps, schools, hospitals, and ambulances have been bombed. Images of 1.5 million Gazans being internally displaced are unconscionable. Amid severe shortages of fuel, food, water, and medical supplies, the healthcare system is at breaking point with 5,500 pregnant women at risk, and children having limbs amputated without anaesthetics.

As I asked the Prime Minister on 25th October – how much more slaughter and suffering on such an unimaginable scale are we willing to accept?

The situation in Gaza desperately requires an immediate ceasefire to address the humanitarian catastrophe and to advance moves towards a political solution that brings freedom, prosperity, and security. Only through a humanitarian ceasefire can aid be reliably delivered into Gaza. Along with the UN and other humanitarian agencies, I believe that the scale of need is so high that ‘pauses’ cannot offer the time and security needed to meet even basic civilian needs. Anything short of a ceasefire will lead to the loss of more lives.

I have spent much of my working life as a barrister, speaking up for the marginalised and most vulnerable in our society. I will therefore return to the backbenches to advocate more freely for a ceasefire and stand up for the Labour values I have always believed in.

I assure you that I will continue to do all that I can to serve the party, working hard on the ground to ensure that we win the next election and deliver the Labour government which this country so desperately needs.

Yours sincerely,

Yasmin Qureshi M.P.

Member of Parliament for Bolton South East