Labour’s shadow minister quits over Keir Starmer’s stance on Gaza

A Labour frontbencher has resigned over Sir Keir Starmer’s position on the crisis in the Middle East, adding to pressure on the Labour leader over his stance on conflict.

Imran Hussain, MP for Bradford East, said he was quitting his role as shadow minister for the new deal for working people to be able to “strongly advocate” for a ceasefire.

In a letter to Sir Keir, he said he was “deeply troubled” by the Labour leader’s interview on LBC in which he appeared to suggest that the Israeli government had a right to withhold water and power from citizens in Gaza.

“It is with a heavy heart that I am writing to tender my resignation as Shadow Minister for the New Deal for Working People after eight years on the Labour Party frontbench,” Hussain said.

He said he had been “proud” to work alongside Sir Keir and his deputy Angela Rayner in developing a plan for employment rights, but could not “in all good conscience” push for a cessation of hostilities while remaining part of the frontbench.

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Hussain said: “It has become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted.”

The Labour leader has faced a deepening battle to maintain discipline in his top team on the Gaza conflict.

At least 16 shadow ministers have either called for a ceasefire or shared others’ calls on social media, including Yasmin Qureshi and Jess Phillips.

Sir Keir has insisted collective responsibility remains important, but declined to say whether frontbenchers would face getting sacked for breaking ranks to urge an end to fighting.

On Tuesday morning, Pat McFadden insisted that Sir Keir was “not going to change” his stance after around 30 Labour councillors resigned over his record on the crisis.

“The point I’m making this morning is yes, we do want to make it stop, but our ambitions should be more than just a ceasefire – it should be a more secure future for both Israelis and Palestinians,” he said.

And on Wednesday Labour confirmed it would continue to resist calls to back a ceasefire, adding it would merely “freeze this conflict”.

‘Innocent civilians must be protected’

A Labour spokesman said: “Labour fully understands calls for a ceasefire. Everybody wants to see an end to the shocking images we are seeing in Gaza. We need to see all hostages released and aid getting to those most in need.

“But a ceasefire now will only freeze this conflict and would leave hostages in Gaza and Hamas with the infrastructure and capability to carry out the sort of attack we saw on October the 7th.

“International law must be followed at all times and innocent civilians must be protected. Labour is calling for humanitarian pauses in the fighting. This is the best and most realistic way to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and is a position shared by our major allies.”

Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said she “understands colleagues’ concerns” over the party’s stance, but stressed “what we all want to see” is more humanitarian aid being allowed into Gaza and repeated calls for a “humanitarian pause”.

She told LBC News: “I completely understand why that absolutely has to be a real focus alongside making sure that Israel can secure the release of hostages.

“That has to be our focus around making sure we get those humanitarian pauses so more aid can get into Gaza. That’s what we all want to see.”

Burnley’s council leader Afrasiab Anwar and 10 other councillors quit the party on Sunday, describing their memberships as “untenable” given the leader’s refusal to go beyond his call for “humanitarian pauses” amid the escalating conflict.

Speaking to the BBC after Hussain’s resignation, Anwar said he “respects” the Labour MP’s “principled” stand.

And he said: “The damage that has been done to the Labour Party has been done by Keir Starmer, the way he has handled this situation.

“This is about principle, it’s about standing up for what you believe in. The leader of the opposition should be standing up for social justice and be calling for, or at least calling on the government for, a ceasefire.”

The councillors said they had engaged with a host of senior Labour figures – including shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper, shadow foreign secretary David Lammy and deputy leader Angela Rayner – to raise their concerns.

Hussain said he unequivocally condemned Hamas’s 7 October attack but said this could not “become a right to violate international law on protecting civilians or to commit war crimes.”

“As I write, more than 1,400 Israeli and over 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in the last month,” he wrote.

“This shocking number of fatalities is set to grow as indiscriminate attacks and the siege of Gaza continues.”

Hussain had served on Labour’s frontbench for almost eight years, serving under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership as shadow international development minister in 2016.

The Independent