Campaigners seek to harness Gaza anger among Britain’s Muslim voters

OLDHAM, England – Ms Shanaz Saddique is one of a surge of pro-Palestinian candidates hoping to mobilise Muslim votes at Britain’s July 4 polls by tapping into discontent over the two main political parties’ positions on the Gaza war.

Both the ruling Conservatives and the resurgent Labour Party have said they want the fighting to stop, but have also backed Israel’s right to self-defence – angering some among the 3.9 million Muslims who make up 6.5 per cent of Britain’s population.

Few, if any, of the pro-Palestinian candidates running as independents or for non-mainstream parties will be elected to Parliament, but “The Muslim Vote” campaign is looking to win enough votes to send a message to those who do.

“Gaza is... not about a political argument. It’s a human rights argument,” Ms Saddique, who is seeking to be elected as a Member of Parliament for Oldham East and Saddleworth north of Manchester, told Reuters. “We do not apologise for being the Gaza party.”

The Muslim Vote campaign is advising voters to pick pro-Palestine candidates running as independents or from smaller parties like the left-wing Workers Party, which has put up 152 candidates including Ms Saddique.

The party’s outspoken leader

George Galloway won a special election in March

for a vacant parliamentary seat in Rochdale, a neighbouring town to Oldham which also has a big Muslim population, after Labour withdrew support from its candidate over a recording espousing conspiracy theories about Israel.

The war began when

Hamas-led fighters burst into southern Israel

on Oct 7, killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

The offensive launched by Israel in retaliation has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

There are around 230 more independent candidates in this election than at the last vote in 2019.

In areas with large concentrations of Muslim voters, many of those independents are running on a pro-Palestinian platform, according to Ms Sophie Stowers of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank.

The party most likely to feel the effect of unhappiness among Muslim voters is Mr Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, which is

still predicted to win the election

but has long counted on the backing of Muslim and other minority groups.

Labour has faced criticism and risks losing voters for only gradually shifting towards calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The party has committed to recognising a Palestinian state but has not set out a definitive timetable for doing so.

“I’ve been a long Labour supporter... but no more, not my family. We are not supporting Labour,” said Mr Rafit Hussain, 51, a shop owner in the historically Labour-voting Oldham. “Genocide is happening in front of our eyes and nothing’s been done about it... which is very upsetting and very sad.”

A Savanta poll in June found that 44 per cent of Muslims who ranked the conflict as one of the top five issues would consider backing an independent running on the issue.

Ms Poppy Yousaf, another Oldham local, is one of those who has heard their message: “I will vote this year looking at independents, because I don’t think the Tory (Conservative) government or a Labour government has quite promised or done things that sit right with my conscience.” REUTERS