Israel-Hamas war: Read 330 councillors’ new letter to Keir Starmer backing ceasefire

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