But Keir’s cheers muted by Muslim anger over Gaza
The Opposition saw its once-loyal Muslim vote collapse in parts of the country over the party’s stance on Gaza.
It lost control in Oldham and haemorrhaged votes in other areas with a high Muslim population – with senior party figures conceding the Middle east conflict had been an ‘issue’ on the doorstep.
Officials were concerned that the party’s perception with Muslim voters – and subsequent loss of votes – may carry on into the General election.
Labour only backed a ceasefire in the Gaza conflict – which has reportedly seen almost 35,000 people killed – in February, months after ten frontbenchers resigned and dozens of Labour councillors quit or defected to other parties.
Party leader Sir Keir Starmer admitted last night: ‘There are some places where that’s a very strong factor and I understand that and respect that.
‘Where we have lost votes, we will earn them back through hard work just as we have done on many other issues.’
Polling guru Sir John Curtice said Labour’s support fell by eight points in wards where the Muslim population was over ten per cent.
In Oldham specifically, Labour’s vote share fell by 12 per cent – compared with 3 per cent in areas with fewer Muslim voters – as they lost seats to independent candidates in five wards.
Sir John added: ‘ There are signs that Labour may have fallen back somewhat in places where many people identify as Muslim. This is most likely a reflection of their discontent with Labour’s stance on the war in Gaza.’
Labour national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden told Times Radio: ‘It is an issue in some parts of the country and I think there’s no point in me coming on your programme and denying that’s the case.
‘And I’m not surprised that people have strong feelings about this issue. And so many thousands of innocent people have been killed and people want it to stop, and we do too.’
he added: ‘ And if there’s a place where we’ve lost the trust of somebody who maybe voted Labour before, I can’t predict what all of those people voted in the past, then we’ll work hard to get that support back.
‘But one other thing I should say, you mentioned Oldham there. There are hyperlocal factors in Oldham, which have meant it’s been out of line with the national picture for a few years now, long before Gaza. We lost seats there, for example, last year and the year before and the year before that when Gaza was not in the news. So, I’m not denying this as a factor.’
Mr McFadden admitted it ‘could’ play a factor in the upcoming General election, and that Labour would need to ‘work hard’ to regain lost support over the conflict.
One senior Labour source said last night: ‘It’s extremely telling that when “red wall” voters rejected, turned away from Labour, the party sat up, listened, and devised a strategy to win them back.
‘When it’s Muslims, they just don’t care and Starmer won’t even acknowledge it. Keir Starmer – and the responsibility mainly lies with him – has so much work to do to undo the severe damage done as a result of his lack of empathy for the Palestinian cause. he either still doesn’t get it, or he just doesn’t care.’
Ali Milani, the chairman of the Labour Muslim Network, said: ‘This changed Labour Party cannot leave Muslim voters in the rearview mirrors. We cannot dismantle a decades-long relationship between Muslim voters and the Labour Party.
‘This is the last warning Labour will get before a general election – we have so much work to do with regaining the trust of Muslim voters. That starts with calling for an immediate arms embargo on Israel and making sure Muslims feel our voice, and our lives, matter.’