This could have been the week that Keir Starmer buckled under pressure from his party and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. A fifth of his MPs have publicly backed one, including 13 frontbenchers and big names such as Anas Sarwar, Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham. Starmer’s suggestion in a radio interview that Israel could be justified in defending itself by cutting off electricity and water to Gaza had already led to more than 25 Labour councillors quitting, while several shadow ministers are on resignation watch.