Starmer urged to recognise Palestinian statehood

The single biggest story of the day was a letter signed by 220 MPs urging then Prime Minister Keir Starmer to recognise Palestinian statehood, adding to the mounting cross-party pressure the government was already facing over its stance on Gaza. The letter proved to be a precursor rather than a one-off: within days, Starmer would announce that the UK planned to recognise a Palestinian state in September unless Israel took "substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza," a announcement that drew a sharp rebuke from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who argued it would "reward Hamas's monstrous terrorism." A year later, the underlying argument in that letter is essentially still being made. Just this week, a fresh cross-party letter signed by around 80 MPs and peers, including Kim Johnson, urged new Prime Minister Andy Burnham to go further still, calling for Britain to formally recognise the UN's findings on genocide and impose comprehensive sanctions on Israel. The pressure has clearly outlasted the change of prime minister.