Newham Councillors Join Move to Pressure Starmer on Gaza

Amid allegations that four shadow cabinet members are threatening to resign, eight (or maybe nine), Newham councillors joined some 150 Muslim councillors from across the UK with a view to getting Keir Starmer to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. (For some reason Salim Patel is recorded twice, but this may be a mistake and the second should have been Miraj Patel).

Getting an opposition leader to call for a ceasefire might just be a bit of virtue signalling. It may be more sinister, particularly when Israel views Hamas as an existential threat. 

And whilst Israel is enjoined to stop attacking Hamas, there does not seem to be any corresponding demand for Hamas, (PIJ etc) to stop firing rockets into Israel; nor for Hezbollah to do likewise. Nor for Iran to stop financing terror.

It may be that the real purpose is to show that the Muslim community can force the leadership to react. Muslim councillors may be ideologically committed to the eradication of Israel, sorry, committed to a single, multi-ethnic, democratic Palestinian state. It may be that they are merely protecting their backs from angry Muslim voters for whom they have to show that they are doing something.

But in pursuit of that agenda the lives of only one group is important. This letter should be viewed as a piece of political theatre aimed at raising the profile and influence of Muslim members. Or some Muslim members.

Of itself, this is no problem, that’s often the nature of politics. However, from our local experience it is evident that several of these members come with a history in other political parties, Respect/TH1st/Aspire in particular. There is nothing to suggest that they underwent a conversion of philosophy when joining Labour. We would posit the following suggestion. 

Some of these recent converts to Labour came in with the intention of pursuing a different agenda altogether, as well as seeking personal preference.

The Labour Party has to ask a question about how many of these members are entryists in the same way that Militant was entryist, some decades previously. And what will it do about it?

(The letter and the Newham signatories are included below.)