Monday, November 06, 2023
How much trouble is Starmer in over Gaza?
The Guardian reports that the leader of Burnley borough council has resigned along with 10 other councillors in protest at Keir Starmer’s refusal to call for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
The paper says that Afrasiab Anwar, who has been a member of the party for a decade, was among those who called for the Labour leader to step down last week:
He described leaving Labour as a “really difficult decision”, adding: “We just can’t stand by watching and being part of a party that is not speaking out, or at the very least calling for a ceasefire.
Starmer has urged Israel to obey international law and called for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, but refused to call for an immediate ceasefire, a stance that has divided the party.
“Instead of talking of peace, all of our world leaders, including the leader of the Labour party, are talking about humanitarian pauses. It’s just nonsensical,” Anwar added.
He said the group had tried “everything we could by working within the party” and that he wanted Labour to “come back to its core values of fighting for social justice”.
A guest post on the Liberal England blog reports that 42 councillors in 20 Councils have resigned since 7 October because of the national party’s stance on Israel and Palestine:
Some may have moved to pre-empt expulsions, and others may be considering their position pending new developments in the Middle East or the shadow cabinet. There have been 10 Labour defections in both Oxford and Blackburn with Darwen, and eight former Labour councillors in Sheffield have formed a Community Councillors group.
How many of these councillors are going to campaign (or even vote) for the Labour Party at the next General Election? The inner workings of the Labour Party are a mystery to most people
With reports that a significant number of Labour MPs are sympathetic to the stance taken by these councillors and that an organised resistance to Labour by Muslim voters could put as many as thirty Labour seats in jeopardy, this is turning into a real crisis for Starmer.
Arguing for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach Palestinians is a perfectly logical position but it does not distinguish Labour from the Tories nor, more importantly does it even begin to address some of the big issues in the region.
Starmer may legitimately believe that a ceasefire will leave Hamas free to resume terror attacks, while doing nothing to liberate the hostages, but that does not stop him from criticising the policies of the Israeli government, whose continual colonisation of the West Bank and persecution of Palestinians there, is preventing progress to the two-state solution which is the accepted wisdom for a long term resolution to this crisis. And where is the criticism of Netanyahu's targeting of civilians and children?
The actions of Hamas in massacring innocent civilians was an act of terror, was unjustified and deserves retribution, but Israel has not distinguished itself in its response either.
The paper says that Afrasiab Anwar, who has been a member of the party for a decade, was among those who called for the Labour leader to step down last week:
He described leaving Labour as a “really difficult decision”, adding: “We just can’t stand by watching and being part of a party that is not speaking out, or at the very least calling for a ceasefire.
Starmer has urged Israel to obey international law and called for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, but refused to call for an immediate ceasefire, a stance that has divided the party.
“Instead of talking of peace, all of our world leaders, including the leader of the Labour party, are talking about humanitarian pauses. It’s just nonsensical,” Anwar added.
He said the group had tried “everything we could by working within the party” and that he wanted Labour to “come back to its core values of fighting for social justice”.
A guest post on the Liberal England blog reports that 42 councillors in 20 Councils have resigned since 7 October because of the national party’s stance on Israel and Palestine:
Some may have moved to pre-empt expulsions, and others may be considering their position pending new developments in the Middle East or the shadow cabinet. There have been 10 Labour defections in both Oxford and Blackburn with Darwen, and eight former Labour councillors in Sheffield have formed a Community Councillors group.
How many of these councillors are going to campaign (or even vote) for the Labour Party at the next General Election? The inner workings of the Labour Party are a mystery to most people
With reports that a significant number of Labour MPs are sympathetic to the stance taken by these councillors and that an organised resistance to Labour by Muslim voters could put as many as thirty Labour seats in jeopardy, this is turning into a real crisis for Starmer.
Arguing for a humanitarian pause to allow aid to reach Palestinians is a perfectly logical position but it does not distinguish Labour from the Tories nor, more importantly does it even begin to address some of the big issues in the region.
Starmer may legitimately believe that a ceasefire will leave Hamas free to resume terror attacks, while doing nothing to liberate the hostages, but that does not stop him from criticising the policies of the Israeli government, whose continual colonisation of the West Bank and persecution of Palestinians there, is preventing progress to the two-state solution which is the accepted wisdom for a long term resolution to this crisis. And where is the criticism of Netanyahu's targeting of civilians and children?
The actions of Hamas in massacring innocent civilians was an act of terror, was unjustified and deserves retribution, but Israel has not distinguished itself in its response either.
With the Labour party divided, and with Starmer apparently caught up in his own indecision, his leadership is in trouble, How he responds now, will determine whether he is capable of uniting his party or whether he will limp into the next general election with Labour hobbled by infighting and factions.
