A new survey suggests Labour could see a collapse in its Muslim vote at the next general election because of its response to the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The research group, Muslim Census, conducted the survey on October 17 to gauge how the government's response to the recent events in Israel and Palestine has affected British Muslim's potential voting choices. It received 30,000 responses and found a 66 percent drop in Labour voters.
The survey revealed that in the 2019 General Election, 71 percent of British Muslims voted for Labour while now, just five percent said they would vote Labour again. A staggering 98 percent of respondents said their decision was influenced by the Labour Party's stance on the ongoing conflict in Israel and Palestine.
The founder of Muslim Census, Sadiq Dorasat said: “To receive over 30,000 responses in the space of a week, shows how important and pressing this topic is for British Muslims.”
“The responses show an overwhelming shift in the Muslim sentiment towards our main political parties. It is up to our political leaders to respond and reassure our communities moving forwards.”
This comes after 23 Labour Councillors resigned over Keir Starmer’s stance on Israel and 250 Muslim Labour Councillors signed a letter demanding a ceasefire.
The Labour leader has been facing criticism for his position on the Israel-Hamas conflict. When asked if Israel was right in cutting off water and power to Gaza, Sir Keir told LBC: “I think Israel does have that right.”
He has since said that Israel has the right to defend itself, but did not mean it was justified in cutting off power and water. He has backed calls for a "humanitarian pause" in Gaza but has resisted intense pressure from his own MPs and councillors to demand an Israeli ceasefire.Sir Keir faced more criticism after he visited a local mosque in Cardiff and said on X he was “grateful to hear from the Muslim community” and that he called for “all hostages to be released.”
In a statement, mosque representatives said they felt “gravely misrepresented,” and that they challenged Sir Keir's stance on Israel and demanded a ceasefire.
CEO of Muslim Engagement and Development, Azhar Qayum, said: “This survey should be a seismic wake up call for the Labour leadership, it cannot take the Muslim vote for granted anymore.”
On Wednesday, Sir Keir and deputy leader Angela Rayner met with Muslim MPs.
One MP told The Times: “There was a consensus on the point that a ceasefire needs to be called. I don’t think he’s quite there yet. He said that things are moving, things are evolving, we’re already on the pause idea but we have to build consensus.”
