The Labour election campaign was pretty perfect. From day one, the Conservatives fumbled from one disaster to another - rain on arrival, D-Day botched, the betting scandal - whilst Labour managed a steady, focused campaign. The Conservatives were just kicked when they were down. However, to some, the one area which seemed to shake Labour was Gaza. Before the campaign, when then-Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer failed to call for a ceasefire in the region, Labour’s standing among Muslim voters collapsed. His cautious u-turn didn’t seem to stop this - the damage was already done. We saw this in play before the election, when George Galloway became MP for Rochdale on a pro-Gaza platform. When Labour pulled support from Azhar Ali over anti-Israeli comments about the October 7th attacks, Galloway swooped in to pick up pro-Gaza votes and won the seat. In a similar fashion, when the election results came out, amid the total collapse of the Conservative majority, the more depressing moments of the night came in labour losses to Independent candidates.
2024 was not only the year of a sweeping Labour victory, but the year of independents. From the return of Jeremy Corbyn to the victory of Alex Easton in Northern Ireland, independents across the political spectrum had their best showing in recent memory. A total of 6 were elected, with 5 running on generally pro-Gaza campaigns, and 4 in direct protest of Labour’s position on Palestine. Sweeping Labour majorities were decimated by independents like Ayoub Khan in Birmingham Perry Barr overturning Khalid Mahmood’s majority of over 15,000. Most notable was Shockat Adam Patel’s victory over Jonathan Ashworth, Former Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in one of the more shocking results of the night. Upon winning, Patel declared ‘this is for Gaza’, in his Leicester South constituency. With a diverse makeup of voters, constituencies with higher proportions of middle eastern voters seemed to punish Labour for their shaken stance on Gaza. Even in Bristol Central the former Shadow Culture Secretary, Thangam Debbonaire, lost her seat to co-leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer. The former Labour MP accused Green Party campaigners of exaggerating her opposition to a ceasefire motion, which she voted for on one of the two available occasions. Across the board, the left has rejected Starmer’s middle eastern policy.
Perhaps in an attempt to rectify this, one of Starmer’s first acts was to call on Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to accept a ceasefire. Whilst a step in the right direction, this doesn’t go far enough towards reassuring middle eastern voters that Labour is on the right side of the debate. If even the President of the United States can’t sway Netanyahu’s position, the newly elected Prime Minister won’t. One move, however, seemed to broadly unite the left-wing parties. SNPs, Plaid Cymru, Liberal Democrats, and even Labour mentioned the recognition of the state of Palestine in their manifestos. After the 2024 General Election, a majority of the UKs largest political parties are in favour of this key step in foreign policy - so why won’t Labour implement this?
Where Labour and Plaid Cymru called for the state’s recognition as a key step towards peace, the SNP and Liberal Democrats called for an immediate recognition of the state of Palestine - in line with Spain, Ireland and Norway’s recent trilateral decision. With widespread support for this move on the continent, and the backdrop of the recent NATO summit, Starmer’s only real obstacle on the world’s stage seems to be the United States. The ‘special relationship’ between the two countries is possibly why Starmer has held out, perhaps to allow Biden’s recent peace proposal to take root (which it hasn’t) and focus on NATO’s 75th anniversary celebrations.
Practically, recognition would be a key step towards a two-state solution to the conflict, and would put the UK in line with close geographical allies in Europe. With the new government’s initiative to move closer to Europe and repair its relationship, why not align with other EU countries who’ve done this? Whilst this may weaken the UK’s relationship with Israel, the recognition of Palestine would allow Starmer’s government to lead its European allies towards the process of a two-state solution, and meet the mood of the nation.
Politically, Starmer’s problem with middle eastern voters would likely be lessened, allowing him to demonstrate to those who moved to Independents that this Labour government is firmly in support of Palestine, alongside its commitments to Israel. This also distinguishes Starmer’s foreign policy initiatives from the Conservatives, after many accused them of a business-as-usual approach, allowing Foreign Secretary David Lammy to come into the forefront of the debate.
Whilst it's understandable that Starmer would avoid an announcement like this when he focused on his visit with President Biden, who holds a firmly pro-Israeli position, now that he’s returned, the Prime Minister should use his mandate to actualise his manifesto pledges. We’ve seen key announcements on finance, climate, healthcare, and immigration; now is the time for Labour to set a new chapter in foreign policy. In these first few weeks of the new parliament, when Labour’s support is highest, Starmer needs to be bold - recognise the state of Palestine, and take a real step towards peace.