Keir Starmer has now responded to remarks he made last week
Sir Keir Starmer is facing a growing rebellion within his party over Gaza after one in six MPs called on Israel to stop bombing Hamas.
The Labor Party leader is struggling to contain growing divisions that threaten to destroy the sense of unity he has nurtured within the party's ranks. for the past three and a half years.
He has faced growing dissent among both lawmakers and grassroots activists, with 23 council members already resigning in protest over his pro-Israel stance.
The parliamentary motion, tabled by Richard Burgon, Jeremy Corbyn's former shadow justice secretary, has now been signed by 34 of Labour's 199 MPs.
When leaders are elected, they are required to toe the party line. out of the equation, then just under half of the backbenchers supported him.
These include senior left-wing party figures who served under Corbyn, such as John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor and Barry Gardiner.< /p>
Mr Corbyn himself, who is an independent MP after being unwhip but remains an influential figure among rank-and-file Labor members, signed the motion.
But in a sign that concerns are widespread, it was also backed by Sir Stephen Timms, the Labor moderate who was Chancellor of the Exchequer under Sir Tony Blair.
The proposal is outwardly aimed at the government and calls on Rishi Sunak to insist on » immediate de-escalation and cessation of hostilities» on both sides.
But this is really a message to Sir Keir, with a particularly pointed reference to «unimpeded access to medicines, food, fuel, electricity and water.»
The Labor leader angered many party activists last week. with his defense of Israel, which included the suggestion that the country has the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza.After the backlash, he has since sought to rebut those remarks, insisting on Friday that his response was incorrect understood, and Tel Aviv must respect international law.
On Monday he went further to try to distance himself from his own remarks after facing questioning from an audience at an Islamic center in south Wales.
“I was deeply moved to hear their pain and horror. about the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip,” Sir Keir said in a post on social network X, formerly known as Twitter.
He added: “I have made it clear that this is not and has never been my the view that Israel had the right to cut off water, food, fuel and medicine. International law must be respected.»
Even members of his own top team appeared to struggle to understand the party line, and Lisa Nandy said she understood the anger among Muslim voters.
Her remarks It came after three leaders — Shabana Mahmood, Louise Hay and Wes Streeting — warned Sir Keir at a shadow cabinet meeting that he risked a backlash.And his explanations have done little to quell unrest within the party, which has spilled over in recent days and exposed deep divisions within the party.
Zara Sultana, MP for Coventry South, warned: Sir Keir's stance risks damaging his position. the damage to Labour's relationship with Muslim voters is as profound as the war in Iraq.
Writing for the left-wing website LabourList, she said his call for Israel to show restraint «rings hollow». while he remains silent about Israel's egregious war crimes.»
Tahir Ali, Birmingham Green Hall MP, added: “The ongoing collective punishment of Palestinians is unjustifiable and violates international law.”
“The humanitarian consequences are dire. There is an urgent need for a ceasefire so that aid can reach the people of Gaza. We must focus on ending the conflict.»
Conflict within the ruling body of the party
It's not just splits in Parliament, with members of the Labor Party's governing body openly attacking each other on social media over the party's position.
In one unusual exchange, Mish Rahman, a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), attacked his colleague Luke Akehurst on social media.
Mr Akehurst, a Blairite and moderate secretary group Labor First, published a message welcoming the resignation of six left-wing advisers on Gaza.
«Good riddance to these ineffective Momentum hacks, they were never Labour,» he said, referring to the mass movement created in support of Mr Corbyn.< /p>
Mr Rahman angrily replied that his message said: «The Labor Party is not a safe space for Muslim members,» adding: «If you show the slightest decency you will delete your tweet.»
In the last few days he has been highly criticized by Sir Keir , accusing him of «endorsing war crimes» and calling his support for Israeli military action a «cesspool.»
Unhappy online discussions played out in public view on social media show how disagreements over which approach to take reach all the way to the top of the party.
But they are equally penetrating to the roots, as a steady stream of councilors resign from their positions, citing voter dissatisfaction with the leadership's approach.
Latest figures show 23 people have resigned, and further strikes could threaten the party's control of key local governments, including Leicester, a traditional Labor city.
But it's not just local representatives who have to worry: 31 MPs from Labor sits in constituencies where Muslim voters hold the key to their electoral future.
They include shadow cabinet ministers Ms Mahmood and Mr Streeting, who privately warned Sir Keir about his position, as well as his deputy Angela Rayner.
The Labor leader took control of the party, which was riven by schism following Corbyn's five disastrous years in office, culminating in the 2019 election defeat.
He has made enormous efforts to try to restore a sense of unity and purpose, not least by eradicating horrific cases of Semitism in the ranks.
At the same time, he reduced the left to an armful compared with its height under Corbyn, filling parliament and the governing bodies of the Labor Party with centrists of his own model.
< p>But, as recent events have shown few days, political parties will never be able to completely escape the influence of the fringe figures who often represent their members best.
Whether Sir Keir can close the lid, the growing tensions within his party will go a long way in determining of what condition she is in to fight the next elections.
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