More than 330 Labour councillors have written to the party leadership asking that Labour backs an “immediate ceasefire” and “an end to Israel’s complete siege of Gaza”.
The letter, the full text of which is reproduced below, argues that its signatories “cannot stay silent while even the sick and dying who are accessing urgent care in hospitals are not safe.”
It states that the “intensified human catastrophe in Gaza impacts us all” and argues that “the Labour Party’s failure to call for an end to violence is causing hurt in our communities.”
Today’s letter follows another separate open letter sent last week by 250 Muslim Labour councillors, which also backed a ceasefire. A majority of the latest letter’s signatories are reportedly not Muslim. Groups of Labour councillors in Sheffield and Brent have also backed a ceasefire.
At a speech in central London yesterday, Keir Starmer said: “While I understand calls for a ceasefire at this stage, I do not believe that it is the correct position now”, arguing that it would embolden Hamas and lead to further violence.
On Sunday, Shadow Science Secretary Peter Kyle suggested that Labour figures would not be disciplined for calling for a ceasefire. LabourList has a rolling list of all the front- and back-bench MPs who have joined calls for a ceasefire here.
Labour was approached for comment.
Full text of open letter
As members of the Labour Party, we are committed to eradicating oppression, and speaking out against injustice and violence. To this end we unequivocally condemn all acts of violence against civilians.
As community leaders we are proactively supporting our residents by speaking to faith and community groups and working to protect our communities who are facing rising hate crime and racially motivated violence. The intensified human catastrophe in Gaza impacts us all, and the Labour Party’s failure to call for an end to violence is causing hurt in our communities.
As the UN CEIRPP Bureau has stated, the current escalation by Israel in Gaza “has already broken the limits of international law and is providing ample evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity”. We cannot stay silent while even the sick and dying who are accessing urgent care in hospitals are not safe.
As Labour councillors across the country, we are calling on the Labour Party leadership to fulfil their duties under international law – to ensure the protection of an occupied people and to demand an immediate ceasefire, an end to Israel’s complete siege of Gaza and for the protection of all civilians.
Cllr Martin Abrams, Lambeth
Cllr Soraya Adejare, Hackney
Cllr Ihtesham Afzal, Brent
Cllr Iman Ahmadi Moghaddam, Brent
Cllr Zaffar Ajaib, Slough
Cllr Shoab Akhtar, Oldham
Cllr Ajmal Akram, Brent
Cllr Sabia Akram, Slough
Cllr Saghir Alam, Rotherham
Cllr Concia Albert, Westminster
Cllr Asghar Ali, Leeds
Cllr Shaukat Ali, Manchester
Cllr Liaqat Ali, Nottingham
Cllr Zafar Ali, Pendle
Cllr Zafar Ali, Pendle
Cllr Basharat Ali, Worcester
Cllr Zahra Alijah, Manchester
Cllr Esther Amaning, Bexley
Cllr Zarina Amin, Kirklees
Cllr Penny Andow, Conwy
Cllr Majella Anning, Greenwich
Cllr Afrasiab Anwar, Burnley
Cllr Ammar Anwar, Kirklees
Cllr Hanif Aqbany, Leicester
Cllr Usman Arif, Lancashire
Cllr Gillian Arrindell, Westminster
Cllr Zainab Asunramu, Bexley
Cllr Marina Asvachin, Exeter
Cllr Cathy Augustine, Conwy
Cllr Frank Baffour, Hackney
Cllr Dave Baigent, Cambridge
Cllr Robina Baine, Adur and Worthing
Cllr David Barker, Birmingham
Cllr Philip Barks, Staffordshire Moorlands
Cllr Cheryl Barnard, Notthingham
Cllr Nighat Basharat, Sheffield
Cllr Hajran Bashir, Walsall
Cllr Labina Basit, Hillingdon
Cllr Stan Bates, Hemsworth
Cllr Misbah Batool, Leicester
Cllr Andy Batsford, Hastings
Cllr Steve Battlemuch, Notthingham
Cllr Jane Begley, Exeter
Cllr Nur Begum, Newham
Cllr Asma Begum, Tower Hamlets
Cllr Liza Begum, Westminster
Cllr Fran Belbin, Sheffield
Cllr Sharon Belcher, Hull
Cllr Max Bell, North Lincolnshire
Cllr Santiago Bell-Bradford, Islington
Cllr Gerri Bird, Cambridge
Cllr Molly Bloomfield, Colchester
Cllr Claudia Boes, Cardiff
Cllr Connor Brady, Staffordshire Moorlands
Cllr Joy Bratherton, Cheshire East
Cllr Hester Bridges, Hull
Cllr Pamela Brivio, Dover
Cllr Chris Brockley, Conwy
Cllr Martin Brooks, Birmingham
Cllr Kayleigh Brooks, Leeds
Cllr William Brown, Lewisham
Cllr Angela Brown, Rochdale
Cllr Andy Burford, Telford
Cllr Laurie Burton, Southend
Cllr Terry Byron, Knowsley
Cllr Mary Callaghan, Wigan
Cllr Natasha Carlin, Sefton
Cllr Chris Carr, Broxtowe
Cllr Bill Cawley, Staffordshire Moorlands
Cllr Marina Chacon-Dawson, Caerphilly
Cllr Jumbo Chan, Brent
Cllr Rochelle Charlton-Lainé, Durham
Cllr Jilani Chowdhury, Islington
Cllr Areeq Chowdhury, Newham
Cllr Ilkay Cinko-Oner, Islington
Cllr Gemma Cobby, Doncaster
Cllr Amirah Cole, Bristol
Cllr Andrew Collins, Lambeth
Cllr Tom Connor, Waltham Forest
Cllr Karen Constantine, Kent
Cllr Sophie Conway, Hackney
Cllr Issy Cooke, Greenwich
Cllr Wendy Cooksey, Rotherham
Cllr Jen Corcoran, Sefton
Cllr Joseph Croft, Islington
Cllr Sarina Da Silva, Lambeth
Cllr Tariq Dar, Brent
Cllr Rohit Dasgupta, Newham
Cllr Sasha DasGupta, Newham
Cllr Matt Dawber, Wigan
Cllr Mohammed Dawood, Leicester
Cllr Mariam Dawood, Newham
Cllr Anna Day, Bexley
Cllr Shabana Dhedhi, Waltham Forest
Cllr Aydin Dikerdem, Wandsworth
Cllr Audrey Dinnall, Notthingham
Cllr Iva Divkovic, Cambridge
Cllr Ebrahim Dockrat, Kirklees
Cllr Ebrahim Dockrat, Kirklees
Cllr Paul Donovan, Redbridge
Cllr Jade Doswell, Manchester
Cllr Sarah Doyle, Liverpool
Cllr Andrew Draper, Gilfach Goch
Cllr Pat Draper, Wigan
Cllr Katie Dye, Leeds
Cllr Maya Evans, Hastings
Cllr Katrina Faccenda, Edinburgh
Cllr John Fahy, Greenwich
Cllr Richard Falvey, Broxtowe
Cllr Luke Farley, Leeds
Cllr Tasleem Fazal, Blackburn
Cllr Larry Ferguson, Bexley
Cllr Julian Finch, West Lancashire
Cllr Hannah Fleet, Conwy
Cllr Linda Foley, Manchester
Cllr Sam Foster, Southwark
Cllr Kathleen Fraser, Brent
Cllr Mike Frost, Weymouth
Cllr Sheila Gallagher, Gateshead
Cllr Craig Gamble Pugh, Sheffield
Cllr John Garvani, Leeds
Cllr Erica Gbajumo, Brent
Cllr Joseph Ghayouba, Cumberland
Cllr Alice Gilderdale, Cambridge
Cllr Mick Gilgunn, Islington
Cllr Rosa Gomez, Redbridge
Cllr Zoe Goodman, Bristol
Cllr Margaret Graham, Edinburgh
Cllr Phil Graham, Islington
Cllr Gwen Grahl, Brent
Cllr Tony Griffin, Rotherham
Cllr Zuber Gulamussen, Newham
Cllr Naheed Gultasib, Walsall
Cllr Darren Hale, Hull
Cllr Rukhsana Haleem, Rotherham
Cllr Sean Halsall, Sefton
Cllr Sharon Hamilton, Leeds
Cllr Mohammed Hanif, Luton
Cllr Mohammad Hanif, Pendle
Cllr Patricia Hannah-Wood, Colne
Cllr Billy Harding, Lewisham
Cllr Ketzia Harper, Southwark
Cllr Holly Harrison-Mullane, Haringey
Cllr Lucille Harvey, Liverpool
Cllr Elizabeth Hayden, Liverpool
Cllr Ruth Hayes, Islington
Cllr Dan Hermitage, Worthing
Cllr Debbie Hilal, Manchester
Cllr Sharon Hoffman, Hull
Cllr Paul Hogan, West Lancashire
Cllr Max Holloway, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Dina Hossain, Newham
Cllr Margaret Howard, Worthing
Cllr Jemima Hunt, Oxford
Cllr Mahfooz Hussain, Blackburn
Cllr Shaukat Hussain, Blackburn
Cllr Shaukat Hussain, Blackburn
Cllr Tariq Hussain, Bradford
Cllr Shah Hussain, Burnley
Cllr Yusra Hussain, Kirklees
Cllr Arif Hussain, Leeds
Cllr Zara Hussain, Leeds
Cllr Zahid Hussain, Manchester
Cllr Shubo Hussain, Tower Hamlets
Cllr Khizar Hussain, Walsall
Cllr Tammy Hymas, Haringey
Cllr Mohammed Idrees, Birmingham
Cllr Sabahat Imtiaz, Blackburn
Cllr Murtaza Iqbal, Manchester
Cllr Mohammed Ishtiaq, Burnley
Cllr Anamul Islam, Newham
Cllr Jyotsna Islam, Redbridge
Cllr Sham Islam, Redbridge
Cllr Syed Islam, Redbridge
Cllr Asma Islam, Tower Hamlets
Cllr Sirajul Islam, Tower Hamlets
Cllr Saleha Jaffer, Lambeth
Cllr Sana Jafri, Wandsworth
Cllr Imran Jalil, Notthingham
Cllr Kerry Jenkins, Birmingham
Cllr David Jenkins, Leeds
Cllr Jane Jones, Birmingham
Cllr Dave Jones, Conwy
Cllr Clare Joseph, Hackney
Cllr Sabia Kamali, Newham
Cllr Angela Kandola, Notthingham
Cllr Nussrat Kazmi, Burnley
Cllr Gill Kennett, Hull
Cllr Mariam Khan, Birmingham
Cllr Sonia Khan, Blackburn
Cllr Zamir Khan, Blackburn
Cllr Rahat Khan, Calderdale
Cllr Kiran Khan, Crawley
Cllr Musarrat Khan, Kirklees
Cllr Alia Khan, Luton
Cllr Anwar Khan, Notthingham
Cllr Neghat Khan, Nottingham
Cllr Asif Khan, Watford
Cllr Abdul Khayum, Sheffield
Cllr Anjna Khurana, Islington
Cllr Sadiq Kothia, Redbridge
Cllr Reuben Lake, Portland
Cllr Jo Lawson, Kirklees
Cllr Frances Leach, City of London
Cllr Sean Lee, Littlehampton
Cllr Martin Lennon, South Lanarkshire
Cllr Jessica Lennox, Leeds
Cllr Sue Lent, Cardiff
Cllr Tomas Logan, Liverpool
Cllr Sehrish Lone, Burnley
Cllr Laura Lunn Bates, Sefton
Cllr Sam Lux, Notthingham
Cllr Gerry Lyons, Waltham Forest
Cllr Ben Mackmurdie, Islington
Cllr Quesir Mahmood, Blackburn
Cllr Farzanna Mahmood, Notthingham
Cllr Sulcan Mahmood, Notthingham
Cllr Sobia Malik, Lancashire
Cllr Mustafa Malik, Leicester
Cllr Aisha Malik-Smith, Lewisham
Cllr Shehrazade Maria Mamjan, Dover
Cllr Lisa Martin, Leeds
Cllr Naheed Mather, Kirklees
Cllr David Mayer, Newport
Cllr Carole McClloch, Notthingham
Cllr Jane McCoid, Gateshead
Cllr Kimberly McIntosh, Southwark
Cllr Maurice Mcleod, Wandsworth
Cllr Shane McMurray, Hull
Cllr Saddak Miah, Birmingham
Cllr Michael Millar, Leeds
Cllr Ruth Milsom, Sheffield
Cllr Graham Minshaw, Cumberland
Cllr Ishma Moeen , Brent
Cllr Sajid Mohammed, Nottingham
Cllr Rosy Moore, Cambridge
Cllr Raffiq Moosa Mohammed, Leicester
Cllr Nabeela Mowlana, Sheffield
Cllr Khaled Moyeed, Haringey
Cllr Fozia Mubashar, Notthingham
Cllr Fozia Mubashar, Nottinham
Cllr Declan Mulholland, Durham
Cllr Abdigafar Muse, Manchester
Cllr Mohammed Muzibur Rahman, Newham
Cllr Sana Nasir, Nottinham
Cllr Saiqa Nasreen, Walsall
Cllr Aftab Nawaz, Walsall
Cllr Michelline Ngongo, Islington
Cllr Amber Nisa, Rochdale
Cllr Alison Norris, Sheffield
Cllr Dale Overton, Worthing
Cllr Emily Owen, Conwy
Cllr Gulcin Ozdemir, Islington
Cllr Saiqa Pandor, Islington
Cllr Rosemary Pantelakis , Hull
Cllr GIllian Pardesi, Stafford
Cllr Minesh Parekh, Sheffield
Cllr Daniel Parks, Dover
Cllr Salim Patel, Newham
Cllr Shoaib Patel, Redbridge
Cllr Lynn Petrini, Hull
Cllr Reginald Popoola, Southwark
Cllr Jamie Pout, Dover
Cllr Fliss Premru, Hackney
Cllr Adeel Qamar, Nelson
Cllr Shuguftah Quddoos, Notthingham
Cllr Hayder Qureshi, Newcastle
Cllr Habib Rahman, Newcastle
Cllr Shumel Rahman, Newcastle
Cllr Rohima Rahman, Newham
Cllr Nick Raine, Notthingham
Cllr Ehsan Raja, Blackburn
Cllr Asif Raja, Burnley
Cllr Cameron Ramsay, South Ayrshire
Cllr Faisal Rana, Rochdale
Cllr Aasim Rashid, Rochdale
Cllr Julie Read, Stafford
Cllr Sarita-Marie Rehman-Wall, Notthingham
Cllr Samina Riaz, Notthingham
Cllr Jabbar Riaz, Worcester
Cllr Kevin Ritchie, Leeds
Cllr Helen Rivron, Calderdale
Cllr Dave Robinson, Sefton
Cllr Tia Roos, Weymouth
Cllr Boderick Ross, Falmouth
Cllr Jake Rubin, Brent
Cllr Sarah Ruiz, Newham
Cllr Atif Sadiq, Worcester
Cllr Imran Safdar, Kirklees
Cllr Naim Salim, Notthingham
Cllr Hilary Schan, Worthing
Cllr Rudi Schmidt, Lewisham
Cllr Andrew Scopes, Leeds
Cllr Astrid Scott, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Mohammed Shahzad, Leeds
Cllr Rebecca Shatwell, Newcastle
Cllr Dave Shaw, Doncaster
Cllr Mohammed Shazad Fazal, Calderdale
Cllr Liam Shrivastava, Lewisham
Cllr Michelle Simmons-Safo, Haringey
Cllr Laura Smith, Cheshire East
Cllr Abu Sultan, Bedford
Cllr Rebeka Sultana, Tower Hamlets
Cllr Yasmin Surti, Leicester
Cllr Sam Swash, Flintshire
Cllr Hau-Yu Tam, Lewisham
Cllr Nicola Taylor, Bexley
Cllr Emma Taylor-Beal, Worthing
Cllr Yvonne Tennant, Pendle
Cllr Baiju Thittala Varkey, Cambridge
Cllr Anna Thompson, Hull
Cllr Chloe Tomlinson, Southwark
Cllr Lisa Trickett, Birmingham
Cllr John Tudor, Leeds
Cllr Nurullah Turan, Islington
Cllr Claudia Turbet-Delof, Hackney
Cllr Jamal Uddin, Redbridge
Cllr Ibby Ullah, Sheffield
Cllr Rachel Wade, Cambridge
Cllr Carl Walker, Worthing
Cllr Sean Waters, Broxbourne
Cllr Cathy Watson, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Anthony Wedlake, Wrexham
Cllr Jill Weston, Welwyn Hatfield
Cllr Robert White, Whitehaven
Cllr John Whitworth, Newham
Cllr Aaron Wilkins-Odudu, Ribble Valley
Cllr Adele Williams, Notthingham
Cllr Christine Wiltshire, Arun
Cllr Sonia Winifred, Lambeth
Cllr Peter Wong, Cardiff
Cllr Charles Woodgate, Dover
Cllr Annette Wright, Manchester
Cllr Penny Wrout, Hackney
Cllr Taiba Yasseen, Roherham
Cllr Zoe Young, Falmouth
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham
Cllr Habiban Zaman, Kirklees
Cllr Charlotte Zosseder, Dover
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