Labour ‘lost the trust’ of Muslim voters over ceasefire

LABOUR “lost the trust” of British Muslim voters over its handling of the Israel-hamas conflict, the shadow justice secretary has said.

Shabana Mahmood warned it may prove difficult for her party to repair relations with Islamic communities following a backlash to Sir Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza. The Labour leader, was heavily criticised last autumn for initially refusing to demand a ceasefire and suggesting in an LBC interview that Israel had the right to cut off food, water and electricity to Gaza, comments he later insisted were misinterpreted.

A poll published in February found that only 60 per cent of Muslim voters now plan to support Labour at the general election, compared to 86 per cent who backed Jeremy Corbyn in 2019. Ms Mahmood said Labour’s “emotional tone” had failed to meet the moment, telling The Sunday Times: “It leaves people feeling hurt, misunderstood and delegitimised.

“I think the LBC interview and a couple of other things about that period led to a loss of trust between us and the British Muslim community, which obviously we need to put right.”

Asked whether she believed that was possible, Ms Mahmood replied “I think so” but said it was “not easy” and “people are hurt”.

Ms Mahmood became the first member of Sir Keir’s shadow cabinet to break ranks over the conflict last October when she suggested in a letter to her constituents that Israel may be guilty of “collective punishment” of civilians in Gaza. The MP for Birmingham Ladywood is the most senior Muslim in parliament and has described her faith as “the centrepoint of my life”.

Sir Keir has held no fewer than five policy positions on a ceasefire in Gaza since the Oct 7 attacks by Hamas that resulted in the deaths of around 1,160 people. He insisted on Oct 31 Israel had the right to respond to the atrocities, before David Lammy, his shadow foreign secretary, confirmed a fortnight later that Labour backed a “full and immediate humanitarian pause”, following internal pressure.

Labour then called for a “sustainable ceasefire” on Dec 19 and eventually urged an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” ahead of a fresh vote in parliament in February.

Ms Mahmood also said a Labour government would use emergency powers to categorise prisons as “nationally significant”, meaning that planning applications could be fast-tracked and making it easier to reach a target of 20,000 new prison places.