Both Milton Keynes MPs vote against a ceasefire in Gaza

Both Milton Keynes Conservative MPs have toed the party line and voted against a ceasefire in Gaza.

Ben Everitt, MP for MK North, and Iain Stewart, who represents MK South, were not among the group of Tories that abstained inyesterday’s vote.

The motion calling for a ceasefire amid the rising casualties of the Israel-Hamas war came from the Scottish National Party (SNP) as a tabled amendment to the King’s Speech.

288 Conservative MPs voted against the motion, while 60 abstained. No Conservative MPs backed it.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been firm on his government's stance about not calling for a ceasefire and has instead pledged for humanitarian pauses to the fighting.

Yesterday (Wednesday) the Citizen reported how a coalition of faith groups from across the city had signed an open letter requesting an urgent meeting with Milton Keynes Tory MPs Ben Everitt and Iain Stewart to persuade them to vote for a ceasefire.

The letter cited examples of localised incidents where individuals are receiving abuse for being of a particular faith.

The group, made up of Muslim, Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist and non-faith communities, also seeks the urgent opening of humanitarian corridors for aid and adequate provision of food, fuel and medicine.

Neither city MP has mentioned anything about the letter, yesterday’s vote or the situation in Gaza on their social media.

Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer suffered a rebellion when 56 of his MPs chose to back the SNP motion.

As a result, eight shadow ministers and two parliamentary private secretaries either resigned or were sacked for defying the party whip.