Labour politicians calling for ceasefire put Starmer in difficult spot

Labour divided over ceasefire call

Good morning. The news continues to be dominated by the horrific news coming out of Gaza which this weekend, the BBC reported, saw the heaviest night of bombardment by Israeli forces since the war began just over three weeks ago.

On Friday our email discussed London mayor Sadiq Khan’s decision to call for a ceasefire, becoming the first major party figure to do so. Despite the reports in the Times that Khan ignored a “direct appeal” from Starmer not to speak out on the issue, suggesting that such calls are not what the leadership wants to see from Labour politicians, the London mayor has now been joined in his call for a ceasefire by a plethora of other party figures, including Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham.

On Saturday a Palestine solidarity demonstration estimated by police to have around 70,000 in attendance wound its way through central London, and was addressed by Labour MPs including Richard Burgon, Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Andy McDonald, Apsana Begum and John McDonnell, alongside Fire Brigades Union (FBU) general secretary Matt Wrack, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, and a representative from UNISON.

Meanwhile, a statement from Labour Friends of Palestine published on Friday night, which called for a ceasefire, received the support of several Labour MPs, including front benchers Sarah Owen, Afzal Khan, Naz Shah, and Paula Barker. A number of front benchers, including Imran Hussain, are also signatories to an early day motion (EDM) which calls for a ceasefire in Gaza and Israel. Former Chief Secretaries to the Treasury Stephen Timms and Liam Byrne are also notable signatories, and as reports on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza continue it seems reasonable to expect the number of MPs signing up to continue. Shadow Science Secretary Peter Kyle seemed to suggest yesterday that there would be no disciplinary consequences for those stepping out of the party line to call for a ceasefire.

Starmer’s last formal statement on the war, issued on the 25th, termed aid to Gaza “completely insufficient” and called for an increase in support; he also backed calls for a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting. The Labour Party is enormously prone to solipsism; not everything in the world is about us, and to get caught in the habit of treating far more important things, like the moral horror currently unfolding in Gaza, as predominantly acting upon the internal politics of the Labour Party is deeply wrong.

That being said, in his approach to the crisis Keir Starmer has played what was always going to be a difficult hand poorly, with figures from the very top of the party to the grassroots (where reports of councillor resignations continue, and where, anecdotally, resignations among the membership are also happening) now occupying different positions. One also imagines that the difference in the popular imagination of Labour members between what it means to call for a ceasefire and to call for a humanitarian pause in fighting is now further apart than it needs to be, due to news such as Starmer’s reported intervention to Khan, and the bad faith which built up after Starmer’s October 11th LBC interview, setting up an unnecessarily hard dichotomy between the position of the leadership and positions that dissent from it.

Selections

As ever (although not forever: the lion’s share of selections are now wrapped up), Labour is still picking candidates for the next general election. The round of seats currently open for selection includes Beckenham and Penge, a new seat in South London thought winnable for Labour. Applicants include Labour Party Irish Society chair Liam Conlon (son of Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray: such is his mum’s star wattage that the Guardian has a write up of his bid), the IPPR’s Luke Murphy, who touts his work on affordable housing in his selection video, Greenwich councillor Laura Dingsdale, and London Assembly member Marina Ahmad, who also contested Camberwell and Peckham last year.

Meanwhile, applications have closed and competition is getting underway between the shortlisted candidates in Mid Cheshire, where Carl Greatbatch, a 2019 PPC who is to the left of most candidates one finds on shortlists in this round of selections, has secured the support of the GMB and CWU trade unions, while Mike Buckley touts an endorsement from Neil Kinnock. IPPR North director Zoe Billingham is also thought to be on the shortlist.

Other seats with open applications at present are Middlesborough South and East Cleveland, Penrith and Solway, Stourbridge, and the Welsh seat of Brecon, Radnor and Cwmtawe.