Pro-Gaza candidates capture seats from Labour as Muslim heartlands revolt

Keir Starmer's party suffers startling loss of support in once-safe constituencies despite national landslide win

A candidate waves a pro-Palestinian flag as the general election result is declared in Bath, in the west of England. Getty Images

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Pro-Palestinian candidates scored shock wins in the UK general election, as Britain's new Labour government suffered a startling loss of support in heavily Muslim areas.

Independent candidate Shockat Adam declared “this is for Gaza” as he unseated Labour front bencher Jonathan Ashworth in Leicester South.

The former ultra-safe Labour seat of Blackburn backed independent candidate Adnan Hussain, who described his victory as a “protest vote on the back of a genocide”.

Iqbal Mohamed, an independent who made a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war a key focus of his campaign, was elected in Dewsbury and Batley.

Ayoub Khan, an independent who resigned from the Liberal Democrats after saying the party stopped him from speaking out over Gaza, beat Labour by 507 votes in Birmingham Perry Barr.

And Labour was beaten in Islington North by its pro-Palestinian former leader Jeremy Corbyn, who ran as an independent after being exiled by incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Several other Labour figures were run close by independents and pro-Gaza Workers Party candidates, even on a night of resounding overall success for Mr Starmer.

However, Workers Party leader George Galloway failed to win a full term in the Rochdale seat he had won at a by-election in February.

Heartland collapse

Analysis by The National reveals how Labour haemorrhaged votes in seats where a quarter or more of the population is Muslim, dramatically bucking the national trend.

Once all 28 such seats were counted, Labour had won only 37.1 per cent of their combined vote – down from 63.7 per cent at the last election in 2019.

The Conservative vote share across those seats was down from 23.3 per cent to 12.2 per cent as independent candidates flourished.

The fact Labour lost only a handful of seats is testament to how dominant it has historically been among Britain's Muslim communities, meaning it could withstand even a sizeable revolt.

But the loss of votes means Labour enters Downing Street with a landslide majority but only about a third of actual crosses on ballot papers, fewer than Mr Corbyn accumulated in 2017 or 2019.

The Muslim constituent base had been canvassed like never before during the campaign as pro-Palestinian campaigners sought to mobilise a pro-ceasefire vote.

Both the Conservatives and Labour have come under fire for hesitating to support a ceasefire and evading demands to halt arms sales to Israel.

Mr Starmer came in for particular criticism after suggesting Israel had the right to cut off food and power to Gaza, in comments he later walked back.

Labour's manifesto says it supports recognising a Palestinian state as part of a peace process but does not commit to a timeline.

The Green Party also made a play for pro-Palestinian votes and gained a seat from Labour in Bristol, unseating front bencher Thangam Debbonaire.

Near misses

British-Palestinian candidate Leanne Mohamad came within 528 votes of unseating Labour's Health Secretary Wes Streeting in Ilford North, east London.

It was one of several such cases. In Bradford West, one of two Muslim majority-constituencies in Britain, Labour's Naz Shah clung on despite a staggering drop in her vote share from 76.2 per cent to 31.6 per cent.

Birmingham Yardley MP Jess Phillips was booed by opponents chanting “ceasefire” after similarly scraping a victory over the Workers Party's Jody McIntyre.

And in Chingford and Woodford Green, a split between Labour and its estranged former candidate Faiza Shaheen allowed Iain Duncan Smith to hold the seat for the Conservatives.

Ms Shaheen, who was dropped by Labour at the 11th hour in an anti-Semitism row, credited her support in part to “those who were never going to vote Labour after Starmer’s stance on Gaza”.

There were also underwhelming results in north London for Mr Starmer and his new Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Former Nelson Mandela aide Andrew Feinstein won more than a sixth of votes in the Labour leader's constituency, cutting the new Prime Minister's majority.

Mr Lammy was told by third-place independent Nandita Lal that he had been put "on notice" by his constituents as she urged him to publish legal advice on selling arms to Israel.

“Our community has shown Labour that we will not be taken for granted, that we believe all human lives are equal," she said.

Labour had a success to celebrate in Rochdale, where former journalist Paul Waugh ended Mr Galloway's brief stint as the town's MP.

His February win came after Labour withdrew support from its candidate over a recording espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.

Blackburn winner Adnan Hussain meanwhile said people were “disillusioned with mainstream politics” after he took a seat Labour had held since 1955.

“This is for Gaza. I can’t deny the fact that I stand here on this platform before you is a result of a protest vote on the back of a genocide,” he said in his victory speech.

“For a leader of a party to say it is fair to cut off the food, the water and electricity to a besieged population is something that’s truly unforgivable. And today Blackburn you have shown you will not accept injustice no matter who it’s against.”