Faizah Gilani
The Labor party has enjoyed support from a loyal Muslim vote bank, especially during Jeremy Corbyn’s time as party leader. Corbyn found a lot of support from young British Muslims in particular, especially over his views on foreign policy. His clear stance on Palestine was appreciated, and he was also vocal on the Kashmir issue.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for current Labor leader Keir Starmer, who seems to be rather unpopular among Muslim voters. According to a recent poll carried out by survation, Keir Starmer is rated far less favorably than his party by British Muslims. Although Labor maintains a strong net favorability rating among British Muslims of +42%, Starmer has a net favorability of -7% among these voters.
It is also interesting to note that the Labor leader has a positive favorability rating of 22%, almost on par with the Prime Minister who is at 20%. The Muslim community has been a loyal vote bank for the Labor party, but there seems to be genuine dissatisfaction over the current leadership.
Weighing in on the discussion, Ali Milani, a Labor Councilor in Hillington, believes there are a few reasons that have led to this scenario, which include the issues of Palestine and Kashmir. Keir Starmer received criticism for his delayed response towards the recent bombing of Gaza, and failure to take a strong moral stand on the issue.
These sentiments were echoed by Palestinian Ambassador to the UK, Husam Zomlot, who was quoted as saying, “we expected more of our friends from the Labor party. We expected clarity of position about the atrocities that Israel has committed against our people.” Starmer did, however, call upon the Prime Minister to recognize a Palestinian state, at the G7 leaders’ summit.
Although the Ambassador acknowledged this, he maintained that much more was excepted from the party. But some critics see this as an opportunistic move on Starmer’s part, as there is a key by-election taking place on July the 1st in Batley and Spen, West Yorkshire. The constituency has a large Muslim population, and there is a growing sentiment that perhaps Starmer’s comments on Palestine are for the Muslim vote in the upcoming by-election.
There is a growing feeling that Labor will lose the by-election, a disaster for the party and for Starmer as leader, and the loss could well be at the hands of Muslim voters. Labor under its current leadership, appears to be making attempts to appeal to older, white voters, that would usually vote Conservative and in the process, Labor is ignoring other voters, including the Muslim voter.
But these attempts seem to be failing, and voters, in particular from the Muslim community, feel they are being taken for granted. Keir Starmer appears to have been misled into believing that the party would enjoy the support of Muslim voters under all circumstances, but the leadership has clearly underestimated their support. Foreign policy has been a key area for Muslim voters, something that the current leadership has failed to understand.
Similarly, to the disappointment over Palestine, Labor voters belonging to the Kashmiri and Pakistani diaspora advocating for Kashmir’s self-determination, have expressed displeasure over what appears to be a reversal of the party’s position.
After meeting with members of Labor Friends of India group in April last year, Starmer told them “Any constitutional issues in India are a matter for the Indian Parliament, and Kashmir is a bilateral issue for India and Pakistan to resolve peacefully. Labor is an internationalist party and stands for the defense of human rights everywhere,”
He further added, “I am committed to working closely with Labor Friends of India to rebuild trust with the community. We must not allow issues of the subcontinent to divide communities here. “A Labor government under my leadership will be determined to build even stronger business links with India and to cooperate on the global stage on issues such as climate change.”
The comments did not go down well with the diaspora and advocates of the Kashmir cause. This backtrack was seen as a blatant disregard for Kashmir’s right to self-determination, as well as a dismissal of the gross Human Rights violations carried out by the Indian Army. To refer to the situation in Kashmir as a “constitutional issue in India,” undermines the plight of the Kashmiri people.
Keir Starmer did, however, make some clarifications, stating that the party had not backtracked on its stance. The clarification came after the party leader received an open letter from the Muslim Council of Britain. Although the clarification was welcomed by some, a sense of mistrust remains. It is still unclear as to who exactly advised Keir Starmer over Kashmir, but it is weak and a stark contrast to Jeremy Corbyn’s robust stance between 2015- 2020.
In 2015, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry had said that Labor was concerned about Kashmiri Human Rights, and that the party would incorporate Human Rights into any post-Brexit trade deal with India. This ruffled many feathers, and the Indian government even took notice of Labor’s strong position on the Kashmir issue. But it has now become quite clear that while the new leadership speaks of the importance of uploading human Rights, its stance is not a principled one.
Keir Starmer will have his work cut out if he values the support of the Muslim community, who clearly feel alienated and disconnected from the current leadership. Muslim supporters who feel that the party does not represent them, should not be dismissed. Starmer can no longer assume votes will come his way. He will have to reach out to the Muslim base that the party has relied on in the past and try to rebuild the trust. Labour must also clear its position on issues such as Palestine and Kashmir because at present, it is unclear as to what Keir Starmer actually stands for, and this is a problem that continues to plague him.
The writer has studied History and Politics at Queen Mary, University of London. And Near and Middle East Studies at SOAS, University of London.
