Gaza disaster proves divisive and disastrous for Labour
Amid a stomping win for Labour emerging tonight have been signs the party’s row over its stance on Gaza has proven divisive and disastrous.
A shock defeat in Leicester South for Jonathan Ashworth by a pro-Gaza independent candidate became the symbol of discontent with the Labour leadership among many Muslim and younger voters.
Meanwhile Conservative chairman Sir Iain Duncan Smith was re-elected in Chingford and Woodford Green after the last minute replacement of Labour’s Faiza Shaheen over her support on social media for controversial posts on anti-Semitism and Palestine.
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn cited the conflict in his victory speech after he beat Labour’s candidate by upwards of 7,000 votes.
And Sir Keir Starmer was re-elected but saw his vote share drop after his controversial comments on the conflict – including in an appearance on LBC which he later apologised for – and his party’s stance on the issue.
Sir Keir Starmer was re-elected but saw his vote share drop after his controversial comments on the conflict
Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn cited the conflict in his victory speech after he beat Labour’s candidate by upwards of 7,000 votes
He received 18,884 votes in Holborn and St Pancras, or 49 percent, down from 64.5 percent in 2019.
In Leicester South, shadow Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth lost out to independent candidate Shockat Adam by less than 1,000 votes.
Mr Adam stood on an overtly pro-Gaza ticket, pledging to place pressure on government to bring about an immediate ceasefire in the strip, and was endorsed by Jeremy Corbyn.
His website alludes to a ‘genocide’ by Israel and said that ‘many have expressed feeling betrayed and ignored on this matter’. The constituency has a strong British-Muslim population.
Elsewhere Tory veteran and former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith won Chingford and Woodford Green with 17,281 votes.
Labour candidate Shama Tatler came second with 12,524 votes and independent candidate Faiza Shaheen was third with 12,445.
Ms Tatler was ousted as the Labour candidate for the area weeks before the election over posts she had liked that appeared to celebrate Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, which led to the deaths of around 1,200 people.
Jonathan Ashworth, shadow Paymaster General, lost out to a pro-Gaza candidate endorsed by Jeremy Corbyn
Conservative chairman Sir Iain Duncan Smith was re-elected in Chingford and Woodford Green after the last minute replacement of Labour’s Faiza Shaheen
Faiza Shaheen was banned from standing for the Labour party over posts she liked concerning the Middle East conflict in Gaza
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in the retaliation by Israel.
Instead Labour parachuted in Shama Tatler, from Wembley, to replace her, but Ms Shaheen decided to stand as an independent.
When the results were announced, she looked visibly angry and was seen shaking her head – while Ms Tatler looked down and was booed by some in the crowd.
The Gaza vote is also thought to have factored in for independent and former Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was ejected from the party over accusations of anti-Semitism.
Mr Corbyn wrote on X on Thursday: ‘Today, Palestine is on the ballot. If you re-elect me as an Independent MP in Islington North, I promise to always stand up for the people of Gaza, and for the only path to a just and lasting peace: an end to the occupation of Palestine.’
He won in Islington North with 24,120 votes compared to Labour’s 16,873.
An ardent pro-Palestinian activist, Corbyn said that the people who voted for him were ‘looking for a government that on the world stage will search for peace, not war, and not allow the terrible conditions to go on in Gaza at the present time.’
Speaking to Channel 4, he added: ‘The lesson is that people are appalled when they see the pictures of the destruction of Gaza.
George Galloway, who did not turn up to his own count, lost his seat despite standing on a pro-Gaza ticket in the Rochdale by-election earlier this year
‘We are complicit because we are supplying weapons to Israel which are used to bomb Gaza. There has to be a ceasefire, there has to be recognition for the state of Palestine, there has to be justice for Palestinians.’
He added he and other supporters of Gaza will ‘continue speaking out until the killing stops’.
However bucking the trend was George Galloway, who lost the Rochdale constituency just months after winning the seat in a shock by-election.
The leader of the Workers Party, who did not attend the count at Rochdale Leisure Centre to hear the General Election result, lost to Labour’s Paul Waugh.
After the defeat Mr Galloway took to X, formerly Twitter, to say: ‘I thank the people of Rochdale who gave me 54 sitting days in the last parliament as their MP.
‘Big thanks to my agent, my campaign team and the thousands who voted for me today.
‘We took the government party to within 1500 votes and serve notice on Labour that we are here to stay in Rochdale.
‘We will field a full slate of council candidates, establish a full-time office there, campaign to re-open the Maternity Ward and A&E, and keep up the pressure on Labour in the town.’
Former Labour and Respect member, Mr Galloway, swept to victory in Rochdale in February gaining almost 40 percent of the vote in a contest mired in chaos and controversy and dominated by the Gaza war.
Palestine has been a major theme of Mr Galloway’s political career, throughout which he has voiced ferocious opposition to British and US foreign policies, both in the Middle East and, more recently, in their support for Ukraine.
