Over 250 Muslim councillors demand Keir Starmer calls for ceasefire in Gaza

Over 250 Muslim Labour councillors have demanded Keir Starmer call for a ceasefire in Gaza, joining dozens of MPs in doing so.

A letter from the Labour Muslim Network reads: “As Labour councillors elected to serve our constituents, the message we have been hearing repeatedly over the past 2 weeks is simple, people just want an end to the bloodshed and the loss of innocent life.

“Therefore, as Labour Party councillors, as members, and as members of the Muslim community we urge the Labour Party to urgently adopt a position of calling for an immediate ceasefire.”

An early day motion calling for the government to “use its influence to help protect civilians, to ensure adherence to international humanitarian law and to guarantee civilians have access to critical life-saving humanitarian support” has been backed by 95 MPs, including 39 from Labour. Imran Hussain, a shadow levelling up minister, today became the first Labour frontbencher to sign the motion.

It follows the resignation of 25 Labour councillors over the party leadership’s response to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Shaista Aziz, a councillor in Oxford whose resignation from Labour contributed to the party losing its majority on the council, told openDemocracy “a line had been crossed” and she could see no way back to the party.

Mona Ahmed, who also resigned from her seat as a Labour councillor in North Kensington, said Starmer’s actions had “unquestionably alienated” the party’s long-standing Arab and Muslim voters who identify with the plight of Palestinians.

But she told openDemocracy: “This is not solely a Muslim issue. Ensuring that Palestinian human rights are upheld is a humanitarian question, not a religious one, and unites hundreds and thousands of people from all backgrounds.”

Hamza Ali, a British-Palestinian journalist in London, added: “The Labour Party is supposed to be a progressive and internationalist party. It’s supposed to stand for justice and freedom. Under Starmer, there has been no such thing.

“The response to councillors leaving en masse [has] showed an absurd indifference to the closeness of the Palestinian cause to the heart for many in the party. Equally, Using the South Wales Islamic Centre for a photo opportunity was cynical and reinforced [Labour’s] contempt for the Muslim community and the Palestinian cause.”

Fatima Rajina, a senior research fellow at the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre at Leicester’s De Montfort University – and founder of Nijjor Manush, a British-Bangladeshi community action group – said Muslims should seek political homes outside mainstream parties.

“One of the things I always encourage Muslims to consider, regardless of whatever job they’re in, is to become a member of a trade union,” she said, “and then, whenever possible, start getting active with your trade union and start organising.”

A huge snapshot survey was also published today that suggests the Labour Party could see a collapse of the Muslim vote at the next general election.

Research group Muslim Census aimed to gauge Muslim voters’ sentiments on British politicians’ response to the ongoing conflict in the survey, which launched on October 17 and has received more than 30,000 responses.

The survey, shared across social media, asked respondents who they voted for in 2019 and who they would vote for if there were an election tomorrow. Some 71% of people said they voted for Labour three years ago – but just 4.9% said they would do so now.

“To receive over 30,000 responses in the space of a week, shows how important and pressing this topic is for British Muslims,” said Muslim Census founder Sadiq Dorasat. “The responses show an overwhelming shift in the Muslim sentiment towards our main political parties. It is up to our political leaders to respond and reassure our communities moving forwards.”

Anyone could respond to the survey, which required only an email address and asked respondents to state their religion.

Almost all – 98% – of respondents said they had a negative view of both the Conservative Party and Labour over their response to the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.

Results also indicated 38% of respondents would not vote at all “if there were an election tomorrow”, while 21% said they would vote for an independent candidate.

Azhar Qayum, CEO of MEND (Muslim Engagement and Development), which assisted with the survey, said: “This survey should be a seismic wake up call for the Labour leadership, it cannot take the Muslim vote for granted anymore.”

Yesterday afternoon, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner met with Muslim MPs in response to the backlash, central to which were Starmer’s comments in an LBC interview earlier this month. When asked if Israel “cutting off power, cutting off water” was appropriate as a response to the Hamas atrocity, Starmer replied: “I think that Israel does have that right... It is an ongoing situation. Obviously, everything should be done within international law.” He has since insisted he did not mean Israel was justified in cutting off power and water to Gaza, but had meant that Israel had the right to self-defence.

Starmer was also accused of misrepresenting the nature of his visit to a mosque in Cardiff. The South Wales Islamic Centre released a statement saying he “gravely misrepresented our congregants and the nature of the visit,” in his social media posts.

Following the meeting with MPs, Starmer issued a statement saying: “It’s clear that the amount of aid and essential utilities getting into Gaza is completely insufficient to meet the humanitarian emergency on the ground.”

Dorasat added that he is reluctant to back resignations from Labour, telling openDemocracy: “What I would be pushing is for all Muslim representatives in the Labour Party at the moment to voice support and call for an apology for Starmer’s comments, because they haven't been recognised.”

Speaking ahead of Starmer and Rayner’s meeting with MPs, Aziz said: “I think one good thing that will come out today is that the sheer anger in communities across this country will be clearly articulated. They cannot say they didn't know.”

Aziz said the Muslim community has been “trashed for decades… without anyone batting an eyelid”.

“What the Labour Party cannot say anymore, is that it is marching collectively,” she added.

“There is a lack of respect for us as well, which is why the level of anger and the level of deep hurt across communities is really unprecedented. And I don't think the party machinery understands it, because they have no close proximity to our communities, right? They only go into our communities to ask for our votes at key times and to do their PR stunts.”

The Labour Party has been contacted for comment.

Editor's note, 27 October 2023: This is the final version of this news story, which has been updated throughout the last two days to reflect developments.