Labour loses seats over Gaza stance

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Labour's Jonathan Ashworth, a member of the shadow cabinet, faced defeat last night as the party saw several seats slip away or become more challenging to hold onto. Protest votes were cast in response to Labour's position on the Gaza conflict, leading to these losses.

During the night, Labour experienced a loss of five seats to independent candidates who support Palestine, specifically in regions with large Muslim communities.

Ashworth, a member of the Labour party who held the position of shadow paymaster general and was expected to receive a promotion, was defeated in the election for the Leicester South seat by an independent candidate campaigning on a pro-Palestine platform, with a margin of only 979 votes. It is worth noting that Leicester South has a demographic composed of 35 per cent Muslim residents.

In Leicester East, voters who support change were divided between the Labour party and a Liberal Democrat candidate who supports Palestine, which helped the Tory candidate Shivani Raja win. This seat had not been won by the Conservatives since 1983.

The Labour party was unable to win the seats in Dewsbury and Batley in West Yorkshire and Blackburn in Lancashire, even though these areas have a large Muslim population of around 45 percent.

Ayoub Khan, who ran as an independent candidate, claimed victory in Birmingham Perry Barr by defeating the Labour party with a lead of just over 500 votes.

The Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting and well-known Labour backbencher Jess Phillips narrowly secured their seats against candidates supporting Palestine. Streeting's margin of victory was a slim 528 votes, while Phillips won by a close 693 votes.

Phillips explained to the BBC that Gaza was a major concern in the area, but she also faced a dilemma due to the growing support for Reform UK.

In Chingford and Woodford Green, ex-Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith kept his position as MP when the progressive vote was divided between Labour and the independent candidate Faiza Shaheen, a vocal supporter of Palestine. Shaheen was removed as a candidate by Starmer soon after the election was announced.

Jeremy Corbyn's win in Islington North has added to the group of six independent MPs who support Palestine. They will closely watch over Labour's stance on the situation in Gaza.

Adam, an independent candidate who ran against Ashworth, expressed that his victory serves as a reminder to those in positions of power that they must always remember and prioritize the needs of the people they serve.

"This is a small act of kindness," he remarked as he accepted a scarf from someone in the crowd and declared, "This is a gift for the people in Gaza."

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Throughout the six-week election period, the Labour party sent out supporters to strengthen their support in 24 areas with a large Muslim community. This was in response to facing competition from candidates who were supportive of Palestine.

The Labour party knew about the danger and told their supporters in areas with over 10% Muslim populations to focus on campaigning in their own communities rather than going to other key areas.

Starmer faced backlash from a lot of long-time Labour supporters for his slow approach in moving the party towards backing a ceasefire in Gaza. His hesitancy to change his position resulted in 10 frontbenchers resigning in November, including Phillips.

Following the significant losses the party experienced in Muslim areas during the local elections in May, Starmer made it clear that he was dedicated to acknowledging the existence of a Palestinian state as part of efforts to achieve peace. However, there are individuals who believe he could have taken it a step further by withdrawing support for Israel and supporting an end to arms sales.

It is extremely uncommon for independent candidates to win in general elections in the UK's voting system. The highest number of independent candidates winning seats in a postwar election was in 1945, when eight seats were won.

No independent candidates were successful in the 2019 elections, with only one managing to win in 2015.

Candidates that support Palestine came in second place to the Labour Party in at least seven constituencies, such as Slough, Oldham West, Rochdale, Burnley, Walsall and Bloxwich, and Birmingham Hodge Hill.

Abubakr Nanabawa, who organizes The Muslim Vote campaign group, stated that in places where Muslim voters had good options to choose from, they supported those candidates and showed the Labour party that they should not expect their votes without effort.