Senior Tory MPs and peers call for recognition of Palestine

Well, well, well. The conflict in the Middle East has caused splits among the Labour lot and now it seems serious divides are forming in the Conservative party over the issue. As reported by the Guardian, it transpires that more than a dozen senior Tory MPs and peers have broken ranks and written to Sir Keir Starmer calling for the UK to immediately recognise Palestine as a state. The seven MPs and six House of Lords grandees have signed a letter that insists ‘recognising Palestine would affirm our nation’s commitment to upholding the principles of justice, self-determination and equal rights’. Yet this is very much not the stance of the Conservative party leadership…

The letter was signed by several senior Tory figures on the moderate side of the party, including MPs Kit Malthouse, Simon Hoare and father of the house Sir Edward Leigh alongside peers such as Nicholas Soames and Hugo Swire.