11 councillors quit Labour over stance on ceasefire in Gaza – after calling for Sir Keir Starmer to resign
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.
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‘Is ceasefire issue tearing Labour apart?’
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
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’
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Protesters shut down central London
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.”
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Politics
Rachel Reeves turning around UK’s finances ‘like Steve Jobs did for Apple’, claims minister
Rachel Reeves will turn around the economy the way Steve Jobs turned around Apple, a cabinet minister has suggested ahead of the upcoming spending review.
Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle compared the chancellor to the late Apple co-founder when asked on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips where the £86bn for his department is coming from.
Politics Live: Winter fuel payment cut to be dealt with ‘in run up to autumn’
Apple Inc. chief executive Steve Jobs, who died in 2011. Pic: Reuters
Chancellor Rachel Reeves
The package, confirmed ahead of the full spending review next week, will see each region in England granted £500m to spend on science projects of their choice, including research into faster drug treatments.
Asked by Trevor Phillips how the government is finding the money, Mr Kyle said: “Rachel raised money in taxes in the autumn, we are now allocating it per department.
“But the key thing is we are going to be investing record amounts of money into the innovations of the future.
“Just bear in mind that how Apple turned itself around when Steve Jobs came back to Apple, they were 90 days from insolvency. That’s the kind of situation that we had when we came into office.
“Steve Jobs turned it around by inventing the iMac, moving to a series of products like the iPod.
“Now we are starting to invest in the vaccine processes of the future, some of the high-tech solutions that are going to be high growth. We’re investing in our space sector… they will create jobs in the future.”
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The spending review is a process used by governments to set departmental budgets for the years ahead.
Asked if it will include more detail on who will receive winter fuel payments, Mr Kyle said that issue will be “dealt with in the run-up to the autumn”.
“This is a spending review that’s going to set the overall spending constraints for government for the next period, the next three years, so you’re sort of talking about two separate issues at the moment,” he said.
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‘So we won’t get an answer on winter fuel this week?
Scrapping universal winter fuel payments was one of the first things Labour did in government – despite it not being in their manifesto – with minsters saying it was necessary because of the financial “blackhole” left behind by the Tories.
But following a long-drawn out backlash, Sir Keir Starmer said last month that the government would extend eligibility, which is now limited to those on pension credit.
Read more: Spending review 2025 look ahead
It is not clear what the new criteria will be, though Ms Reeves has said the changes will come into place before this winter.
Mr Kyle also claimed the spending review will see the government invest “the most we’ve ever spent per pupil in our school system”.
However, he said the chancellor will stick to her self-imposed fiscal rules – which rule out borrowing for day-to-day spending – meaning that while some departments will get extra money, others are likely to face cuts.
Politics
Minister dismisses US misgivings over Chinese ‘super embassy’ in London – as Tories warn of ‘espionage base’
A minister has dismissed reported US misgivings about plans for a Chinese “super embassy” near London’s financial districts.
Peter Kyle told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that security concerns will be “taken care of assiduously in the planning process”.
Politics live: Winter fuel payment cut to be dealt with ‘in run up to autumn’
There have been protests against the new Chinese embassy. Pic: Reuters
According to The Sunday Times, the White House has warned Downing Street against the proposed massive embassy at Royal Mint Court.
The site is between financial hubs in the City of London and Canary Wharf and close to three data centres, raising concerns about espionage risk.
Asked for the government’s view on the risk, Mr Kyle said: “These issues will be taken care of assiduously in the planning process.
“But just to reassure people, we deal with embassies and these sorts of infrastructure issues all the time.
“We are very experienced and we are very aware of these sorts of issues constantly, not just when new buildings are being done, but all the time.”
He added that America and Britain “share intelligence iteratively” and if they raise security concerns through the planning process “we will have a fulsome response for them”.
However, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said he shared the US’s concerns.
He told Trevor Phillips: “I agree with the United States. We think it is a security risk in the government.
“The Conservatives were very clear. We should not be allowing the Chinese to build the super embassy. It is likely to become a base for their pan-European espionage activities.”
He added that underneath the sites are cables connecting the City of London to Canary Wharf and these could be intercepted.
Sky News has contacted the Chinese embassy for comment.
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China has been attempting to revise plans for the Royal Mint building, opposite the Tower of London, since purchasing it in 2018.
The proposal for the embassy, which would be China’s largest in Europe, was previously rejected by Tower Hamlets council in 2022.
However, Beijing resubmitted it in August after Labour won the election, and the plans were “called in” by Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister and housing secretary.
It means that an inspector will be appointed to carry out an inquiry into the proposal, but the decision ultimately rests with central government rather than the local authority.
Two large protests were held at the site in February and March, which organisers claimed involved thousands of people.
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