Burnley council leader quits over Starmer’s failure to call for Gaza ceasefire

Afrasiab Anwar and the other councillors said: ‘Keir Starmer and the leadership either cannot or will not heed our concerns or acknowledge the sentiments within our communities.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

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.

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.