Nadine Osman
The Labour Party’s support among British Muslims is eroding thanks largely to its handling of the Gaza war, according to the latest poll commissioned by the Labour Muslim Network.
The data amassed by Survation and published on February 5 showed that 3 in 5 (60 per cent) of British Muslims who expressed a preference for a party said they would vote Labour, marking a 26 per cent decrease in support since the last election in 2019, when 86 per cent of Muslims previously polled by the company said they had voted Labour.
The Labour Muslim Network said the poll of 682 people illustrates that the main opposition party risks losing a “generation” of potential new voters ahead of a by-election this month and a general election later this year if its leadership does not change its position on the situation in Gaza.
“These findings come in the context of over 100 days of Israel’s continuous assault on Gaza. Over 25,000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 10,000 of whom are children, and the Labour Party’s response has been unacceptable and deeply offensive to Muslims across Britain,” said the Labour Muslim Network in a statement.
“Muslim voters have been watching and are now sending a clear message: they will not support any political party that does not fervently oppose the crimes committed against the people of Gaza.”
Last year, Labour Leader, Sir Keir Starmer, defended what is widely regarded as Israel’s use of collective punishment by stating that Israel “had the right” to shut off water and electricity to Gaza after Hamas launched an assault on southern Israel. More than 60 Labour councillors have since resigned, citing the party’s approach to the war in areas including Oxford, Burnley, Hastings, and Norwich.
Starmer has since backtracked on these comments but still has not called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, instead supporting the British government’s call for steps towards a “sustainable ceasefire.”
After the cost of living, the economy, and the National Health Service, the Israel-Gaza war ranked fourth among issues Muslim voters said would affect their vote.
But 7 in 10 said that party leaders’ position on the conflict would be “very important” to them, while 3 in 20 said it would be somewhat important.
Earlier this month, Labour sources revealed to the Guardian that the party had been commissioning internal polls and focus groups to decipher how to win back Muslim voters.
The emergence of The Muslim Vote (TMV) organisation, has raised concerns for the Labour Party. TMV, backed by some Muslim advocacy groups, including the Muslim Association of Britain, the Muslim Council of Scotland, and Mend, claims it has mobilised thousands of volunteers ready to support independent local campaigns in constituencies that have a significant Muslim electorate and MPs who failed to vote for a ceasefire.
The poll suggests that opposition to the Conservatives among Muslim voters remains strong, with the incumbent party set to pick up just eight per cent of Muslim votes, a minor decline in its vote share in 2019.
Among other parties, the Green Party was supported by 15 per cent, the Liberal Democrats by nine per cent, the Scottish National Party by four per cent, and others by five per cent.
The Labour Party did, however, retain a 17-point lead, supported by 44 per cent of voters, compared with 27 per cent for the Conservatives.
Labour is seeking to overturn the Conservatives’ current 58-seat majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.
More immediate concerns for Labour are the backlash in the previously safe seat of Rochdale, where a by-election will take place on February 29.
Among the candidates standing in Rochdale, where 19 per cent of the electorate is Muslim, is former left-wing parliamentarian George Galloway, who in 2005 took over Bethnal Green and Bow from Labour following public outrage over the Iraq war.
Despite fielding the only Muslim candidate (Azhar Ali), local Labour members fear Galloway and Simon Danczuk, who is running for Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform Party, could split the Labour vote, allowing a Conservative win.
Danczuk has already campaigned vigorously on the issue of child grooming gangs, which was the focus of a scandal in Rochdale over a decade ago and remains a highly contentious issue.
In a statement to The Muslim News, a spokesperson for the Labour Party insisted it “is committed to a strong relationship with the Muslim community.”
And that the party advocates “for a sustainable ceasefire as quickly as possible and that aid getting into Gaza must be ramped up.”
“Labour is committed to tackling Islamophobia across society and will continue to robustly stand up for the rights of Muslims in our party and wider society.”
Photo: George Galloway, a former left-wing parliamentarian and pro-Palestine activist, is expected to gain protest votes in the Rochdale by-election due to Labour’s failure to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. (Credit: Vince Millett/WikiCommons)
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