Labour is facing a wave of further resignations unless the party strengthens its public support for the Palestinian people, it was warned on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner met a dozen MPs and peers on Wednesday afternoon in a bid to calm tensions following rising anger about the leadership’s stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
It comes after comments the Labour leader made during an LBC interview, more than two weeks ago, in which he said that “Israel does have that right” to cut off power and water to Gaza.
He later said that is not what he meant and clarified he does not support Israel committing war crimes.
However sources said this, and his meeting with MPs, has failed to quell the anger among the Muslim members who are calling for the party to demand an “immediate ceasefire”.
At least two dozens councillors, including two in London, have resigned from the party in the past fortnight with fears entire Labour groups could quit in the coming days.
The party lost their majority on Oxford Council after eight councillors quit, while several prominent frontbench MPs were reportedly on “resignation watch” on Thursday.
One Labour source told the Standard: “It’s a growing problem that’s not going away anytime soon. It needs to be addressed and quickly, that’s become increasingly clear over the last few days.”
An east London Labour councillor said: “There is real anger and not enough is being done. A lot of voters are at best feeling forgotten and at worst betrayed by the Labour party.”
Research released on Thursday by Muslim Census released the results of a poll of 30,000 British Muslims, which found a 66 per cent drop in the number who said they would support Labour following the party’s response to the conflict.
The survey revealed 71 per cent of respondents said they had voted Labour in 2019, but that had dropped to just five per cent who would do the same if the General Election was held tomorrow.
The poll also showed that the Conservatives were also risk of losing votes over the stance on Israel, with the just 0.6 per cent saying they would vote for the party compared to nine per cent in 2019.
Tower Hamlets Labour councillors on Wednesday visited Parliament to meet with MP Rushanara Ali and hand deliver a letter to Sir Keir outlining their concerns that a ceasefire had not been called for.
There a "growing group of Labour Party MPs, councillors and members who are joining the UN and aid agencies in calling for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire," the group said.
Redbridge Labour group on Wednesday issued a statement urging “the Government and Labour Party to recognise the Palestinian struggle”.
