On Thursday night, George Galloway returned to the British House of Commons after he swept to victory in the Rochdale by-election in Greater Manchester. Galloway, who is the most distinguishable and unapologetic critic of Zionism in British politics, premised his campaign on "Israel’s" war on the Gaza Strip, which has killed tens of thousands, and on opposition to the mainstream Labour Party that, under the leadership of Keir Starmer, has offered unconditional backing to the widely condemned invasion and sought to purge criticism of "Tel-Aviv’s" actions entirely from his party. It is little wonder that on being elected, Galloway stated, "Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza… you have paid and you will pay a high price for the role you have played in enabling, encouraging, and covering for the catastrophe presently going on in occupied Palestine in the Gaza Strip.”

Although the British mainstream media do not like Galloway for his diehard advocacy of Palestine, they nonetheless accepted that his victory means trouble for Keir Starmer’s position on the issue. As a Sky News headline conceded: “Sir Keir Starmer should be very, very worried after Galloway win.” Although the Labour Party has attempted to brush over his victory by stating it occurred merely because they dumped their own candidate mid-campaign, this cannot hide the wider sentiment that the party’s position on the Gaza conflict is out of touch with public opinion, and much more strikingly in areas that have significant Muslim communities who feel they have become disenfranchised because of this. In addition, the fact that the current British government is abysmally unpopular and Labour still failed to win cannot be overlooked, and John Curtice on the BBC ultimately acknowledged this factor in his analysis.

Related News

Trump’s Gaza Proposal Isn’t a Peace Plan, It Repackages the War

On the edge of the abyss: A story of displacement, survival from massacre

Since Keir Starmer took control of Labour, he has sought to forcibly reset the party’s foreign policy from the left-leaning approach of Jeremy Corbyn to a NeoConservative, “Blairite” position, which has effectively mirrored the Conservative government on every issue. Integral to this effort has been a purging of all criticism of "Israel" from his party under the narrative of “antisemitism”; a campaign which began with the mainstream media over the past few years. The broader impact of this campaign has been to effectively silence and shut down criticism of Zionism in British politics as a whole. Worse still, Starmer made the decision to offer unconditional support to "Israel" when the war on Gaza broke out, despite a humanitarian crisis and an enormous civilian death toll. This has included even opposing a ceasefire.

However, as the war has waged on, opposition not only from within the Labour Party but also from the broader public has mounted. Statistics do not lie; as found by Yougov Polling. 74% of British people are concerned about the impact the war is having on civilians, while 37% (the highest proportion) believe the UK should be a neutral mediator in the war rather than unconditionally backing "Israel"; an option which only gained 13%. Similarly, 66% of the British public believe there should be a ceasefire, and only 24% believe the invasion of Gaza was justified. Similarly, more British people now sympathize with Palestinians (28%) than "Israel" (16%); the former is growing while the latter is shrinking. 

Thus, while Britain is traditionally very pro-"Israel", the data show that the longer this war rages on, the more public opinion is shifting against them and recognizing their actions in Palestine as unacceptable. We should assume that this is even more overwhelming in British Bangladeshi and Pakistani diaspora communities. Thus, it is a political ticking timebomb for the credibility of Keir Starmer to continue unconditionally supporting "Israel" and attempting to silence criticism of it thereof in his party. While he is shielded by the enormous unpopularity of the British government, which observers note will be to his advantage in a general election, this does not mean that the issue of "Israel" is going to go away, yet the immediate aftermath of Galloway’s victory and this will lead to greater internal strife within Labour.

Thus, Starmer must be prepared to relent on his unconditional backing of "Israel" or face challenges to his leadership in a critical election year, while also disenfranchising and losing the support of British Muslim communities who will simply not vote at all. Now, with Galloway back in the commons, the fox has been let loose again into the hen house, and he will use his firebrand mode of debate to skewer those who continue to support this murderous campaign against Palestinians.