British Muslims’ support for Labour is wobbling

Since October 7th, when Hamas launched its attacks on Israel, the voting patterns of British Muslims have attracted close attention. This group—who account for 6% of Britain’s population—have been reliable supporters of the Labour Party in recent elections. Israel’s devastating retaliatory war in Gaza, and the refusal of Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, to call unequivocally for an immediate ceasefire, have caused rifts within the parliamentary party and cast doubt on Muslim voters’ support.In a by-election held in Rochdale, in north-west England, on February 29th, George Galloway, a former Labour politician whose views are a cocktail of virulent anti-Israeli rhetoric, sympathy for Vladimir Putin and social conservatism, was declared the winner. He won by targeting the constituency’s significant Muslim vote with an explicitly pro-Palestine campaign. “Keir Starmer, this is for Gaza,” he declared in his victory speech. The Rochdale vote is sui generis: Labour fell from first to fourth place after it suspended its own candidate for making antisemitic comments. But the bigger question of how much Muslim support Labour has forfeited over the war in Gaza remains.