The leader of Burnley Council and 10 other councillors have resigned from the Labour Party over Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to push for a ceasefire in Gaza, Sky News understands.

Afrasiab Anwar, who has been in the party for 10 years, said it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave Labour.

He was among those calling for Sir Keir to step down on Thursday.

The 11 councillors described their memberships as “untenable” given the leadership’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East.

In a statement, they said Sir Keir had indicated he “does not value the voice of the grassroots of the party” – citing remarks the opposition leader made following a speech on Friday in the North East.

Sir Keir, who has come under internal pressure for Labour to demand a cessation of hostilities, told reporters his focus was on stopping the suffering in Gaza, not on the “individual positions” of party members.

Labour has backed the UK government’s stance of calling for a pause in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid and medical treatments to reach Palestinians in Gaza.

Analysis: Sir Keir’s attempts to draw a line under the ceasefire row are backfiring

Amanda Akass

Political correspondent

@amandaakass

Sir Keir Starmer has spent weeks trying to downplay his party’s divisions over the question of a ceasefire in Gaza – but the row continues to escalate.

On Friday he claimed Labour was “united” on the issue because everyone is motivated by the same desire to alleviate human suffering there – and that he just isn’t concerned about the individual positions of party members.

But this attempt to paper over the cracks with optimistic descriptions just isn’t cutting it with many of those members, who feel he’s just not listening.

Now the leader of Burnley Council, one of two Labour council leaders who called on Sir Keir to resign over the issue last week, has himself announced he’s stepping down from the party, along with 10 other councillors.

Cllr Afrasiab Anwar claims the views of grassroots members are being ignored. Some in the party are worried about the kind of exodus of Muslim support seen in the wake of the Iraq war.

It brings the number of councillors to have resigned from Labour to 50 – alongside the many big names who have overstepped the party line in calling for a ceasefire, including the mayors Sadiq Khan, Andy Burnham and the Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar.

Last week Sir Keir attempted to draw a line under the row with a big speech and a number of interviews clarifying his position, arguing that he shares people’s “human emotion” in response to what’s happening, but that humanitarian pauses are the most practical way to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza.

He pointed out that demanding a ceasefire would negate Israel’s right to defend itself – both positions which are in line with the government.

He’s hoping the wider electorate will sympathise with his arguments and the desire to stand up for Israel after the horrors of 7 October, particularly given the antisemitism allegations which have haunted his party in the past.

The big risk for him is if this rebellion amongst councillors spreads to the parliamentary party.

There’s talk of left wing MPs attempting to force a vote on the issue this week, perhaps in league with the SNP, to expose the scale of opposition to his position.

Many MPs are under real pressure from their constituents – loyal shadow leader of the Commons Lucy Powell told Sky’s Kay Burley this morning she’s had protests outside her office and it’s “a difficult one for all of us to look at”.

The real challenge to Sir Keir’s leadership would be if any of those shadow frontbenchers who’ve publicly defied the party line and called for a ceasefire decide to take it further – and step down.

However, Mr Anwar said the position was “nonsensical” and did not capture the strength of feeling in his Lancashire town, along with communities elsewhere in Britain, about the war.

“We just can’t stand by watching and being part of a party that is not speaking out, or at the very least calling for a ceasefire,” Mr Anwar said.

“Instead of talking of peace – all of our world leaders, including the leader of the Labour Party, are talking about humanitarian pauses. It’s just nonsensical.

“I just don’t think the message is getting through in terms of how our communities, right across the board, are feeling about this.”

He said the group had tried “everything we could by working within the party”.

Mr Anwar added he wanted Labour to “come back to its core values of fighting for social justice”.

Analysis: Starmer’s attempts to draw a line under Gaza ceasefire row ‘aren’t cutting it’

In a statement on Sunday, the group said: “It has become apparent that Keir Starmer and the leadership either cannot or will not heed our concerns or acknowledge the sentiments within our communities.”

It added: “In response to our calls for him to resign he responded that the individual concerns of members are not his focus, further illustrating that he does not value the voice of the grassroots of the party.”

The leader of Pendle Council, which is also in Lancashire, also called on Sir Keir to resign on Thursday.

It came after senior Labour figures also broke ranks to challenge Sir Keir’s stance – including London mayor Sadiq Khan, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

Read more:
Sue Gray’s baptism of fire trying to fix Starmer’s ceasefire crisis
Labour rebels try to secure divisive Commons vote on Gaza

A Labour spokesman said: “Labour fully understands calls for a ceasefire.

“Everybody wants to see an end to this cycle of violence and suffering, we need to see hostages released and aid getting to those most in need.

“But a ceasefire now will only freeze this conflict and would leave hostages in Gaza and Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October 7.

“International law must be followed at all times and innocent civilians must be protected.

“Labour is calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting.

“This is the best and most realistic way to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and is a position shared by our major allies, in the US and the EU.”