UK Labour official acknowledges electoral backlash over Gaza

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wave Palestinian flags and hold placards as they protest in Parliament Square in London on February 21, 2024. (File/AFP)

• Analysis shows decline of nearly 18 percent in Labour vote in areas where over a fifth of the population are Muslim

LONDON: A senior Labour official on Sunday said the party has to recalibrate its campaigning strategy to win back voters opposing its position on Gaza, The Observer reported.
Pat McFadden, Labour’s national election coordinator, told the BBC program “Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg” that it would “work to get people’s support back,” and that the Middle East is a “high foreign policy priority” for the party.
Analysis has revealed that despite substantial gains in Thursday’s local elections in England, as well as Sadiq Khan securing a third term as mayor of London, there was a decline of nearly 18 percent in the Labour vote in areas of the country where over a fifth of the population identify as Muslim.
The analysis, conducted across 930 wards by Prof. Will Jennings from the University of Southampton, highlighted the extent of the protest vote against Labour leader Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza, particularly his delay in calling for a ceasefire.
Ali Milani, chair of the Labour Muslim Network, voiced concern over the sense of betrayal within the Muslim community.
“We are now seeing the electoral consequence of that,” Milani told The Obsever. “If I was a Labour MP in Bradford or Birmingham or Leicester or parts of London or Manchester, I would be seriously concerned.”
Jennings said: “What this highlights is certainly that Labour is in an uncomfortable position on Gaza. And it is not just Muslim voters.
“But in a general election when we are looking at an anti-incumbent mood and there are fewer small parties and independents, we shouldn’t expect the pattern to be repeated.”
Labour MP Ellie Reeves said: “We have recognized the strength of feeling on this issue. We have called for an immediate ceasefire, we have also said there should absolutely be no ground offensive on Rafah.”
When questioned about Labour’s previous stance on the war, she told The Observer: “Keir Starmer has always been clear that our position would always respond to what is happening there.”