A divide has emerged in the left-wing Labour Party over the conflict between Israel and Hamas as 23 councillors have resigned from the party over leader Sir Keir Starmer’s backing of Israel.
Since taking control of the Labour Party in 2020, Starmer has attempted to rebrand Labour into a more electable centre-left party, casting out many loyal to former far-left socialist leader Jeremy Corbyn.
While the party still frequently engages with fringe ideology on gender and some other social issues, a notable split from the Corbyn days has been on foreign policy.
Starmer has tried to differentiate himself and the party from the septuagenarian socialist on issues such as funding the war in Ukraine to supporting Israel against the attacks from Islamist Hamas terrorists, whom Corbyn had once praised as “brothers” on Iranian state television.
However, Starmer’s vocal support for Israel’s right to defend itself and his initial backing of Jerusalem’s plans to cut off water and electricity to the Gaza Strip in an LBC interview earlier this month have enraged far-left progressives and some Muslims within his base.
On Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that 23 local councillors have resigned from the party in protest over Starmer’s stance on Israel.
A parliamentary source told the paper: “Over the past week, Starmer’s team started the fire by ignoring prominent MPs sounding the sirens around the LBC interview.
“Privately, Muslim MPs were furious and vocal with the leadership. Council resignations are continuing and the traditional vote bank has, in just a fortnight, collapsed.”
“I think that Israel does have that right.”
Sir Keir Starmer tells @NickFerrariLBC that it is acceptable for Israel to withhold power and water from citizens in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/S1L5nftyG5
— LBC (@LBC) October 11, 2023
Lynne Jones, who served as a Labour Party councillor in Birmingham for nearly two decades before quitting the party in protest last week, told the BBC: “It was the end of my tether – he was condoning war crimes on the part of the Israeli government.
“He’s a human rights lawyer and he knows that collective punishment is not allowed under international law.”
The schism within the party comes as Starmer is seeking to prepare Labour for the next general election, which is expected next year and in which the left-wing party holds a commanding double-digit lead in the polls.
Starmer is apparently so confident in their prospects of taking control of parliament that Labour has begun preparing drafts of legislation to implement upon gaining power.
'I was saying Israel had the right to self-defence… I was not saying Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines'@Keir_Starmer speaks after sparking fury among Muslim Labour members in an interview about the Gaza crisis with @LBC https://t.co/o0yilBAOqq pic.twitter.com/DkWpXYNsGy
— ITV News Politics (@ITVNewsPolitics) October 20, 2023
Yet the growing schism within the party over its stance on Israel could threaten to destabilise its base. Starmer has attempted to walk back his comments on cutting off supplies to Gaza, however, many progressives have questioned why it took over a week for the party to do so.
Responding to the controversy, shadow cabinet minister Lisa Nandy said on Saturday: “He’s clarified this week that he was answering the previous question and then went on to talk about the importance of international law.
“I completely understand why people in the Muslim community are in extraordinary amounts of pain right now and heard those words and felt very concerned.”
Israel ‘Forfeited Any Right to Exist’ Declares Former British MP Following Gaza Hospital Blasthttps://t.co/MS1EBCFcvq
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) October 18, 2023
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