Labour has been accused of pandering to a “sectarian agenda” as some of its candidates use Gaza as a campaigning issue in an attempt to stave off feared massive losses in upcoming local elections.
The party is braced for large gains in May by independents and Greens putting Israel and the Palestinians at the heart of their platforms.
Now, despite Labour’s communities and local government secretary Steve Reed urging councils to “stay out of foreign conflicts and get on with the job of delivering local services”, a number of his party’s candidates have seized on the Middle East in their campaigns.
In Reed’s own borough of Croydon, Labour’s Rowenna Davis, vying to be mayor, has called Israel’s actions in Gaza a “genocide”. She has pledged to “campaign for all London boroughs to divest from arms companies operating in Palestine”.
Similar messages on Israel have been signalled by Labour candidates in Waltham Forest, Islington and Brent.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp told the JC he objected to seeing “local politics pulled into divisive international issues in a way that risks inflaming tensions here at home”. Labour insiders told the JC they fear Gaza campaigning by candidates in the party risks “undermining” the government and “inflaming community tensions”.
Alarm within Labour over a possible near-wipeout has risen since the by-election loss of Gorton and Denton to Green party candidate Hannah Spencer, who in her first press conference as MP spoke of Labour “complicity in genocide”.
Despite foreign affairs not being in the remit of local councils, elections for town halls are increasingly dominated by opposition to Israel.
More than 1,200 councillors across the political spectrum have signed up to a Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) pledge to “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid” and divest council pensions funds from “complicit” companies.
Despite a fragile ceasefire in Gaza since last year, some of Labour’s rivals hope to use the issue to mobilise votes in May. In Birmingham, former mayoral and parliamentary candidate Akhmed Yakoob, who came within a few thousand votes of unseating Shabana Mahmood, now the home secretary, at the previous general election – placing Gaza at the front and centre of his campaign – hopes his independent alliance of candidates will take control of the council.
In the east London borough of Newham, both the Greens and Newham Independents are emphasising their positions on the conflict differ from Labour’s.
Labour is under similar pressure in Haringey and Hackney, where the Green Party hopes to inflict defeats on the party.
Some Labour councillors the JC has spoken to feel under increased pressure to sign up to the PSC’s divisive pledge, with one saying they felt they were being “hounded” into complying and their inboxes filling up with repeat demands that they do so.
Despite the pressure coming from rival parties, in some areas it is local Labour parties that are using the conflict in the Middle East in their electoral literature.
In Waltham Forest, east London, Labour’s manifesto boasts it campaigned for a Gaza ceasefire “since October 2023”, shortly after Hamas launched its deadly raid.
Islington Labour boast of: “Showing solidarity with Palestine by twinning with the West Bank town of Aizariyeh and divesting from companies contributing to breaches of international law”. In Brent, Labour’s manifesto did not explicitly name the conflict but pledges to “conduct a review and disclosure of our Pension Fund’s investments and build the UN Genocide Convention into our investment framework”.
One of the most significant criticisms of Israel came from Labour’s candidate for the mayor of Croydon. In her manifesto, Rowenna Davis described Israel’s actions in Gaza as a “genocide” and said she objected to the council’s pension fund being “used to support arms companies that are supplying Israel at this time”.
She continued: “I respect that the Pension Fund’s first duty is to protect the pensions of former workers and I believe this is compatible with ethical investment policies. I will campaign for all London boroughs to divest from arms companies operating in Palestine through the London Central Investment Vehicle’s new responsibility matrix.”
Davis also said that Israel’s actions amounted to genocide in a letter to Labour councillors in the Borough of Croydon in March. This puts her at odds with the government, who say that the matter should be determined by international courts.
In the letter, Davis said that she would not sign the PSC’s pledge as she was uncomfortable with the fact the organisation did not support a two-state solution: “I support a safe and secure Israel alongside a safe and secure Palestine.”
Davis’s actions appear to contradict advice given by Steve Reed, communities and local government secretary, that councils “stay out of foreign conflicts and get on with the job of delivering local services”. Reed, who as MP for Streatham and Croydon North represents parts of the borough Davis hopes to govern, has suggested councils with anti-Israel policies risk being sued by suppliers who lose money.
Shadow home secretary and MP for Croydon South Chris Philp criticised Davis for using Israel in her campaign in his local borough. He told the JC: “Labour, like the Greens, are once again pursuing a sectarian agenda to win votes. They are shamelessly and desperately trying to exploit the concerns of a particular community in order to win their votes. This is a local election and when I speak to residents across Croydon, they are concerned about improving high streets and roads, local planning issues and fighting crime.
“In 2022, the UK accounted for less than one per cent of Israel’s defence imports, and that share has fallen further since then. Dragging Croydon’s pension fund into this debate will have no meaningful impact abroad, but risks undermining confidence here at home. It is deeply concerning to see local politics pulled into divisive international issues in a way that risks inflaming tensions here at home.”
A local Labour party source told the JC that Davis’s actions were “outrageous” and “completely unacceptable. Local politicians should focus on cleaning Croydon’s streets, filling potholes and repairing our finances – not inflaming community tensions in a conflict 2,000 miles away.”
A London Labour spokesperson said: “The government is continuing to work closely with international partners to progress phase two of the peace plan. We know that this is an issue many Londoners care deeply about. Labour’s main focus in these elections is firmly on delivering for our communities - driving down the cost of living, delivering excellent local services, improving schools.”
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