Keir Starmer battles to stop more Labour resignations over Gaza stance as he loses council majority
Sir Keir Starmer is still battling to resolve the fallout in the Labour Party over his remarks about Gaza with more councillor resignations and complaints about his communication style.
A ninth Labour councillor is reported to have quit Oxford City Council, meaning the party lost overall control and is now reduced to a minority leadership, with 25 of 48 councillors.
Council leader Susan Brown told Oxford Mail that Councillor Barbara Coyne had said she intended to vote with the Labour group, but the reduction of Labour to a minority on the council spells out how the crisis may spiral for the Labour leader.
i has been told that several local councillors in the North East are also preparing to resign in protest at his comments on Gaza.
The Labour leader has come under fire from members, councillors and MPs over his failure to call for a ceasefire in the region – instead supporting the UK and US governments in backing a “humanitarian pause”.
More than 20 Labour councillors throughout England have already resigned in protest.
In response to the resignations and concerns, Sir Keir issued a statement on Wednesday reiterating his commitment to a two-state solution and criticising the “completely insufficient” level of aid entering Gaza.
But one source said Sir Keir’s statement had not alleviated concerns, due to its failure to explicitly call for a ceasefire.
They said there were local leaders in the North East “seriously considering resigning”.
The source added there had been long-running concerns about the party’s perceived failure to tackle Islamophobia and, for some Muslim members, this row could be the final straw.
Another party insider said Sir Keir’s statement might have been enough to prevent a rebellion from MPs.
But they pointed to a recent poll by Muslim Census which indicated the party was losing support among the Muslim community and argued it proved “the fundamental problem remains huge”.
Former Labour mayor of North of Tyne Jamie Driscoll, who is now an independent after being barred from standing for the party, called on Sir Keir to “show some leadership” and back a ceasefire.
He told i: “People are wondering why an ex-human rights lawyer is so terrified to tell the truth about what is happening in the Middle East.
“We can see the objective fact that bombs are being dropped on civilians. The UN have called for a ceasefire.
“Sir Keir needs to stop letting focus groups dictate policy and show some leadership, because we are getting precious little from the Conservative government.”
On Wednesday Sir Keir met Muslim Labour MPs to reassure those after they expressed concern over the party’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict and in particular an interview Sir Keir gave on LBC in which he appeared to suggest Israel was justified in cutting off the water and power in Gaza.
The Labour leader later clarified he meant Israel “has the right to self-defence” and called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into the region.
According to sources, Sir Keir listened to concerns during Wednesday’s meeting but did not budge on the main demand for a ceasefire.
He also did not apologise for the remarks he made on LBC Radio, which insiders said had led to a “cold reception” from MPs.
Sources said attendees at the meeting “stressed the depth of anger in constituencies”, with some even reading out letters they had received.
Party insiders complained there was a pattern emerging of the leader’s office failing to get a head of poorly managed communications.
“It’s really bad, I don’t understand why they didn’t get their messaging sorted before going onto the LBC interview,” one said. “It is the same thing that has happened before.”
HuffPost reported that Labour MPs have been offered security advice as tensions mount over the issue, with chief whip Alan Campbell writing to acknowledge “heightened security concerns” because of “recent events”.
More than 150 Muslim Labour councillors wrote to Sir Keir earlier in the week urging the party leadership to call for an immediate ceasefire in the region and some already announced they were resigning.
In a statement on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: “It’s clear that the amount of aid and essential utilities getting into Gaza is completely insufficient to meet the humanitarian emergency on the ground,” the statement read.
“That’s why we have repeatedly said that aid, fuel, water, electricity and medicines must be urgently ramped up both through what can come in through the Rafah crossing and through Israel turning back on the supplies it controls.
“It is incumbent on all parties to make sure that the aid and utilities don’t just get in but reach those who need them. That’s why we’ve said deliveries need to be regular, fast and safe. We welcome [US] secretary [of state Antony] Blinken’s comments last night and we support humanitarian pauses.
