Labour and Gaza - consequences of a bad line

Ceasefire now

By saying on LBC in answer to whether Israel has the right to implement a siege and withhold power and water from the population of Gaza that ‘I think that Israel does have that right,’ Keir Starmer caused revulsion within his party and beyond. His appearance on LBC caused a furious backlash, and led to a growing number of resignations from elected positions or from the party itself.

After days of outrage, the Labour leader was forced to issue a ‘clarification’, first through his spokesperson and then in a broadcast interview, to try to draw a line under the party’s position. But his was an extremely unsatisfactory clarification, in which he has tried to argue that what he said was not what he said, when everyone can see and hear precisely what he said for themselves.

The whole episode could be taught in politics courses as a demonstration of how a bad line goes severely out of control.

The particular role of the leadership of the Labour party over the siege of Gaza has been five-fold.

One, Labour’s role has been to ally itself with the Conservative government. Politico’s London Playbook stated on Monday as MPs returned to the House of Commons, ‘Shadow Foreign Secretary’s David Lammy stance on the conflict has been essentially indistinguishable from the government’s over the weekend.’ Keir Starmer told Labour’s conference that the Conservatives had descended into ‘the murky waters of populism and conspiracy’ – but now the Labour front bench aims to speak with one voice with them. As long as Labour holds to a bipartisan approach with the Tories it will be constantly pulled to a confrontation with its own base. Britain’s government is at the most hard-line end of international opinion towards Gaza. This week at the UN security council, Britain refused to vote for a resolution calling for ‘humanitarian pauses’ to deliver lifesaving aid to the population of Gaza.

Two, Labour’s role has been to give the government of Israel a free hand.  By saying that ‘I think that Israel does have that right’ to impose a siege Keir Starmer provoked the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, to say it is ‘extremely concerning that a senior politician expresses support for the commission of war crime and, potentially, a crime against humanity: such is intentional starvation of civilians when part of a widespread or systematic attack on a civilian population.’

Contrary to his later recalibration, Labour’s position was not an accident during an interview but a consistent line. Keir Starmer was completely focused on not putting any pressure on Israel over its collective punishment of the Palestinians, so placing himself and his party on the wrong side of the question of crimes against the population of Gaza. In a separate interview, when asked what support and sympathy he has for people in Gaza, the Labour leader offered none, as Mehdi Hasan noted. Following Keir Starmer’s interviews, Labour dug in, with the Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry put up on Newsnight to repeatedly refuse to answer whether cutting off food, water and power in Gaza was contrary to international law. And again, to Victoria Derbyshire, Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy refused to answer whether he backed Israel’s order for the forced displacement of one million people in Gaza, saying it is ‘not a yes or no question’ and ‘war is ugly.’

The anger that swirled around these media interventions arose because the Labour leadership had camped out on a rotten position. The siege of Gaza, the pummelling of civilians, the denial of food, water, energy were obviously a collective punishment, and underpinned Israel’s order to forcibly move one million people from the north of Gaza. As Melanie Ward, the CEO of Medical Aid for Palestinians put it, [‘i]t is illegal under international law to impose such a blockade, such a siege, collective punishment on people. It's illegal to deprive them of water and food in the way that is that is being done and that's why the international community so urgently needs to wake up and act.’

Labour’s moral collapse into a position no different to Rishi Sunak’s placed it on the side of crimes being carried out in Gaza. It was obvious where this would lead. Thousands dead including a thousand children dead, clean water cut off and running out, a civilian population pulverised, 25 per cent of homes in Gaza reported damaged or destroyed, 170 education facilities hit, over fifty attacks on sites delivering healthcare. And this comes after months of a deteriorating situation for Palestinians not only in Gaza but in the West Bank too.

Other elected representatives and trade unions have shown the ability to hold onto more than one thought at a time – to deplore the killings of Israeli citizens on 7 October, and to extend that humanity to oppose the collective punishment of the Palestinians and the longstanding injustices imposed on the Palestinian people.

It was completely nonsensical of anyone, including the Labour leadership, to give cover to  a government as far right-wing as that of Benjamin Netanyahu’s, and to think it would not act in an extreme and illegal fashion.

Once issued, a bad line has consequences - in this case it drove its way through the Labour Party, causing anger and concern amongst very broad layers of members and supporters. A wave of resignations and protests has followed. The Labour Muslim Network urged that Keir Starmer “must retract his comments & apologise, or we fear he does not see the humanity in Palestinian & Muslim life.” The Young Labour BAME officer Lubaba Khalid, a Palestinian with family in Gaza, quit her position, citing the comments of Keir Starmer and Emily Thornberry. Among those who have resigned from Labour altogether are the first Arab Muslim woman elected to Manchester City Council – Amna Abdullatif – and Oxford Labour councillors Shaista Aziz and Dr Amar Latif. Many more have followed. There are reports that David Lammy and Sue Gray, Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, held an emergency meeting with dozens of council leaders from across the country on Monday evening to discuss the growing backlash. The Tribune journalist Taj Ali has provided detailed coverage of many examples.

Three, by adopting an unpopular and damaging line, Labour’s role has been to resort to authoritarianism to shut down different views. Labour whips pressured Labour MPs not to attend Palestine-related demonstrations, saying the leadership’s ‘very strong advice is that colleagues should not under any circumstances attend any of these events.’ David Evans, the party’s general secretary, went further and instructed Labour councillors that ‘they must not, under any circumstance’ attend any protest or demonstration. In a message to constituency and branch secretaries Evans also asked that Labour banners not be taken on any demonstrations. Authoritarianism has been a feature of Keir Starmer’s leadership, and that has now extended to the biggest flashpoint in world politics.

Four - flowing from internal authoritarianism - by turning the screws on internal expressions of strongly-held views, Labour’s role is to try to demobilise solidarity with the people of Gaza. Through its central edicts the Labour leadership quite blatantly sought to reduce expressions of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza being illegally brutalised, killed, bombed, deprived of basic human necessities and facing forced removal. Ultimately this is the most disgraceful aspect of the wretched line adopted by the Labour leadership. Keir Starmer may counterpose ‘protest’ and ‘power’ in his speeches – he is wrong, but that is up to him. But in issuing pressure on Labour members, councillors and MPs not to attend demonstrations, Labour’s leadership consciously held back expressions of human solidarity with people suffering in extreme circumstances. It is shameful. Labour’s leadership acted as a brake on the movement for justice for the Palestinians, and continues to hold to this line for further demonstrations.

Labour’s stance towards solidarity movements comes at a time when there is renewed pressure from the right of British society to delegitimise support for the Palestinians. And Robin Simcox - the Commissioner for Countering Extremism in England and Wales, and formerly at the right wing Henry Jackson Society - has sought to use pro-Palestinian demonstrations as a lever to attack multiculturalism itself, attacking a ‘three decade-long failed policy mix of mass migration and multiculturalism.’

On 15 February 2003 Keir Starmer joined the massive demonstration in central London against the build-up to war in Iraq. Just over twenty years later, Keir Starmer is now trying to prevent Labour members and politicians doing the same over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Five, Labour’s role is to act as a blockage to the demand for a ceasefire. Public opinion is overwhelming – a YouGov poll this week showed 76 per cent of the British population think there should be an immediate ceasefire, and only 8 per cent oppose a ceasefire. But Labour, as with the Tories, has made no call for a ceasefire, ensuring that the majority of the public have been given no voice by either party. The Daily Mail’s political editor reported that ‘a spokesman for Keir Starmer has dismissed calls for a ceasefire, saying that Israel “has a right to defend itself.”’ Nonetheless, support for a ceasefire is growing. The TUC general council has issued a statement calling for an immediate ceasefire. Politicians such as the Mayor of West Yorkshire – Tracy Brabin – have called for a ceasefire. So far sixty-three Members of Parliament have signed Richard Burgon’s motion calling for ‘an immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities, to ensure the immediate, unconditional release of the Israeli hostages, to end to the total siege of Gaza and allow for unfettered access of medical supplies, food, fuel electricity and water, to guarantee that international humanitarian law is upheld and that civilians are protected in accordance with those laws.’ The motion has received cross-party support. A number of senior trade union leaders will speak at this today’s demonstration in London.

Having badly miscalculated over the siege of Gaza, Labour still finds itself out of line with the British public and the growing mood within the Labour movement over the actions of Israel and the question of a ceasefire.

It is incumbent on everyone who disagrees with the Labour leadership’s handling of this matter to speak up - including to press for an immediate ceasefire.

Huge by-election victories in Mid Bedfordshire and Tamworth are the latest proof that Labour will form the next government. But just as it was moving closer to power, Labour displayed exactly the wrong foreign policy instincts in relation to Palestine and Israel. So the last few days have underscored the importance of maintaining a firm internationalist and anti-war perspective on the left of British politics that will be required to provide opposition to each wrong turn of the Labour government.