Sir Keir Starmer has been warned Labour could lose seats over his stance on the Hamas conflict, as more frontbenchers defied his leadership by openly calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
A host of shadow ministers broke ranks with Sir Keir on Saturday to voice their support for the move – either with express endorsements or by sharing a demand from the Labour Friends of Palestine.
Labour MPs have told The Independent that at least 100 of Sir Keir’s MPs – half his parliamentary party – want him to shift stance and avoid losing further support.
They also warned the Labour leader that the party faces an “existential threat” in seats with a large number of Muslim voters, as councillors quit and local parties pass motions in favour of a ceasefire.
It cames as a YouGov survey found that 42 per cent of 2019 Labour voters think that Sir Keir has badly handled his response to the conflict, while only 26 per cent think he has responded well.
Senior MPs Naz Shah, Paul Barker and Afzal Khan joined the revolt on Saturday. Ms Shah, Mr Starmer’s shadow minister for crime reduction, accused Israel of “disproportionate attacks on a civilian population”, adding: “We cannot be silent.”
Mr Khan, shadow exports minister, tweeted: “We need an immediate ceasefire now.” And Ms Barker, shadow devolution minister, said she “fully supports these calls”.
Both shadow veterans minister Rachel Hopkins and shadow local government minister Sarah Owen – both said to be on resignation watch over the issue – retweeted the ceasefire demand by Labour Friends of Palestine, though it is not clear if they endorse the call.
Shadow solicitor general Andy Slaughter also retweeted the statement, while shadow domestic violence minister Jess Phillips retweeted UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres calling for a ceasefire.
Keir Starmer is under huge pressure to change his stance on a ceasefire
(PA)
Shadow minister for small business Rushanara Ali, shadow development minister Yasmin Qureshi and shadow levelling up minister Imran Hussain all backed a ceasefire earlier this week.
Senior Labour MP Sarah Champion, chair of the international development committee, criticised Israel’s bombardment. “Imagine the civilians terror,” she tweeted. “How can this be a proportionate response? People in Gaza uncontactable and all communication down as Israel intensifies bombing.”
London mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar all broke ranks on Friday to challenge Sir Keir’s refusal to support a ceasefire.
Sir Keir has joined Rishi Sunak in calling of “humanitarian pause” to allow aid to enter Gaza. But he has consistently argued that Israel has the right to defend itself after the attack by Hamas terrorists.
The Labour leader has also angered many in the party with comments on LBC Radio in which he appeared to back the cutting of power and water to Gaza – which he clarified 10 days later, insisting: “I was not saying that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel or medicines.”
One Labour MP said Mr Starmer had made a “catastrophic decision” to stick with Israel “unconditionally” – arguing that it had alienated millions of voters. “He’s got himself into a serious mess.”
The backbencher told The Independent: “There is an existential threat to a lot of Labour seats with a large number of Muslims voters. I know it’s about a humanitarian disaster – but people do count numbers are worry about their seats. There are MPs on the right of the party and soft left who are very uneasy.”
They added: “A wide group are really, really unhappy. I would say around 100 MPs [want a ceasefire]. The numbers are moving away from him quite rapidly. So I can’t see how the position will hold, especially if there’s wider escalation in the conflict.”
Keir Starmer visited the South Wales Islamic Centre mosque last weekend
(Labour Party)
Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, who helped organise a meeting between Sir Keir and Muslim MPs this week, said: “I certainly hope Keir does [back a ceasefire]. We had a very productive meeting. We were heard, we’re now in dialogue. That’s positive.”
While more than 50 MPs have gone public with their support for a ceasefire, many more are believed to be unhappy – and four shadow cabinet ministers are reportedly on resignation watch as the leadership battles to shore up support for the position.
“I think there is more [than 50 MPs] who want that [ceasefire],” said Mr Mahmood. “We have to deal with the scourge of Hamas, but the only way we can deal with it is by having a ceasefire that allows aid in.”
Another Labour MP said there was “easily” 100 MPs who wanted to change the position. They added: “I fear they will be people around Starmer telling him he needs to stick to backing the US and Israel – telling him he has to be willing to burn our base.”
Party sources made clear the Labour leader was not about to change his position on Friday despite the revolt from the mayors in London and Greater Manchester and the Scottish party leader.
Over 300 Labour councillors have now signed an open letter to Sir Keir backing calls for a ceasefire. And the Romford Constituency Labour Party (CLP) voted unanimously for a motion backing a ceasefire and opposing an Israeli ground invasion – the first CLP to do so.
“I would like the leadership to go further and to call for a ceasefire, and to be clearer about its position on the siege of Gaza being illegal,” said Romford CLP’s Omar Salem, who proposed the motion.
Meanwhile, ex-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed pro-Palestine protesters in Parliament Square on Saturday. He was scathing about the decision by the Sunak government to abstain on a UN General Assembly vote, which backed a humanitarian truce. “It is in eternal stain that the British government abstained on that vote.”