Nine Blackburn councillors quit Labour over ‘pro-Israel’ stance and form new party

Nine councillors in Blackburn have announced their resignations from the Labour Party- amid ongoing controversy over the Labour leadership’s stance regarding Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which is killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians every day. 

Seven councillors including former mayor Suleman Khonat announced that they were leaving the party on Tuesday. Two councillors,  Amna Abdullatif and Shaista Aziz, stepped down last month after Keir Starmer made comments appearing to back Israel imposing a complete siege and cutting off water to the Palestinian enclave. 

“On Thursday, October 26, I participated in a meeting with the deputy leader of the party, Angela Rayner. Despite my pleas and those of other elected members in attendance, the party's stance displayed a lack of empathy towards the humanitarian cause,” Councillor Salim Sidat said in a statement. 

“It is evident that there is no willingness from the party leadership to adopt a humanitarian stance or even call for a ceasefire.” 

Blackburn Labour Cllr Salim Sidat has resigned from the party, saying

"It is evident that there is no willingness from the party leadership to adopt a humanitarian stance or even call for a ceasefire"

Read his resignation letter in full below 👇 pic.twitter.com/HPvO0KK4hs

— Andrew Fisher (@FisherAndrew79) October 29, 2023

He continued, “I was deeply disappointed with the perspectives of our leadership. The call for a ceasefire should have come from the Labour Party. While we understand that the Israeli government may not heed such calls, it does not mean we cannot apply pressure on the Tory government.” 

The nine Blackburn councillors have since formed a new independent party, according to a post on X, formerly Twitter, by Tribune journalist Taj Ali.

NEW: Blackburn Councillors who left the Labour Party over @Keir_Starmer's comments on Gaza have formed a new political party.

The new group of 9 consists of:

Suleman Khonat
Salim Sidat
Salma Patel
Akhtar Hussain
Irfan Malik
Shamim Desai
Saj Ali
Mustafa Desai
Abdul Patel

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) October 31, 2023

Following news of the recent resignations, Blackburn MP Kate Hollern issued a letter on Wednesday to the Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, calling for an immediate ceasefire, as the Palestinian death toll approached 9,000.

“I have now received 2,000 e-mails since the Israeli Defence Force responded to the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7,” the Blackburn MP wrote in the letter. 

“The actions of Israel, not only in recent weeks but over many years - taking land from Palestinians and depriving those people of their capacity to exist in a free Palestinian state – have without doubt caused deep-rooted anger and upset....

"Will you, like I, support an immediate and absolute cessation of violence so that aid can get to where it is needed, hostages to be released and the various parties involved to be able to get round the negotiating table? 

“The situation in Gaza is increasingly desperate and it breaks my heart to see the news day in and out of innocent lives lost. No government should stand by and watch this happen,” Hollern added.