The left-wing councillors threatening to cause local chaos over Israel: Keir Starmer forced to tackle burgeoning Labour grassroots rebellion over his tough pro-Israel stance on Gaza and ban on attending pro-Palestine protests
Sir Keir Starmer has been forced to personally intervene in a growing revolt by leftwing Labour councillors over his support for Israel in its fight against Hamas terrorists.
The party leader has written to local elected politicians setting out his position on the bloody conflict after a string of resignations.
Several councillors representing areas with sizeable Muslim communities have left the party to sit as independents with attacks on what they said were ‘horrifying’ comments that failed to criticise Israel strongly enough.
Meanwhile there have been threats from other councillors to quit en masse and cede control of councils, with anger over orders not to attend pro-Palestinian demonstrations at the weekend.
Lara Parizotto, a Brazil-born councillor in West London, was the latest to resign last night. She posted pictures from a pro-Palestine protest outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last week.
Writing on X she said she had also attended a demonstration ‘in solidarity with Palestine’ this weekend, after ‘Labour councillors were advised not to attend’.
The Cambridge University politics graduate, who is a pro-migrant activist, added: ‘My work and values will remain unapologetically pro-migrant, anti-racist, decolonial, and intersectional. At present, I feel unable to stand by my principles as a member of the Labour Party.’
The party leader has written to local elected politicians setting out his position on the bloody conflict after a string of resignations.
Lara Parizotto (above, right), a Brazil-born councillor in West London , was the latest to resign last night. She posted pictures from a pro-Palestine protest outside the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool last week.
The Cambridge University politics graduate (pictured above, far right, with Keir Starmer in 2021), said: ‘At present, I feel unable to stand by my principles as a member of the Labour Party.’
The issue stemmed from the interview Sir Keir did with LBC Radio on October 11 in which he appeared to say Israel has ‘the right’ to withhold energy and water from Gaza.
But a Labour spokesman later said there were ‘overlapping questions and answers’ and Sir Keir was speaking about Israel’s right to defend itself, rather than to cut off power and water.
At Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Sir Keir said ‘medicines, food, fuel and water must get into Gaza immediately’ because ‘innocent Palestinians need to know that the world is not just simply watching but acting to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe’.
But he distanced himself from a statement signed by 30 Labour MPs, calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with the spokesman saying Israel had a right to rescue hostages taken by Hamas in its bloody border raid which left 1,300 Israelis dead.
Amna Abdullatif, a councillor in Ardwick in Manchester since 2019, said on Monday she would quit Labour after Sir Keir made ‘horrifying comments about Israel having the right to withhold fuel, water, food and electricity from the 2.2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza, effectively endorsing a war crime’.
It came after Shaista Aziz and Amar Latif, of Oxford City Council, said they were resigning from Labour for similar reasons.
Lubaba Khalid, a Palestinian photographer who had been a Young Labour BAME (black, Asian and minority ethnic) officer, said last week that she had handed in her resignation following the LBC interview.
Amna Abdullatif (pictured right in 2020), who sits on Manchester City council, announced on Monday she would sit as an independent on the Labour-dominated authority.
The Labour leader believes it is ‘important that people hear directly what our position is’, a spokesman said, adding: ‘He respects those who are councillors who have communities to represent across the religious spectrum, across people of all faiths and none.
The spokesman said Labour’s position had consistently been to ‘completely condemn’ the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, to say that Israel has ‘a right to defend herself, to go and get the hostages back’.
But ‘all parties need to act in accordance with international law’ and it was ‘vitally important’ that humanitarian aid reached Gaza.
Councillors had been able to hear directly from the front bench to hear the party’s position, the spokesman said, ‘not least given how some of these issues can get edited on social media’.
Asked if Sir Keir was happy for councillors who disagreed with his stance to quit the party, the spokesman said: ‘I wouldn’t characterise it that way at all.
‘What I would say is that this is obviously an issue where we know people have strong feelings, and it’s for individuals to make their own decisions in these circumstances.
‘What we have done is set out clearly what is the Labour front bench position on all of this, that’s why we have taken the time to engage with Labour representatives at all levels, to be able to have that conversation.’
Sir Keir’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, and shadow foreign secretary David Lammy held urgent talks with council leaders on Monday night amid fears over further pending resignations.
A source in the Labour leader’s office confirmed a meeting had been held with elected representatives where ’emotion and strong views’ were expressed but said they ‘did not recognise’ reports it had been ‘heated.’
Meanwhile, MPs on Labour’s left called for an immediate ceasefire in a parliamentary early day motion.
Former shadow cabinet minister Richard Burgon, secretary of the Socialist Campaign Group, said: ‘Preventing the death of any more civilians must be our top priority.
‘That means we need an immediate ceasefire. The UN General Secretary has called for this.
‘It is crucial that political leaders across the world, including our own, back that call to avoid the loss of any more civilian lives.’
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