Over 35 UK Conservative parliamentarians join new pro-Palestine group: co-founder

Some six percent of UK Conservative parliamentarians have joined a new Palestine group, one of its founders recently revealed as she slammed an anticipated government effort to thwart boycotts of Israel.

Tory Baroness Sayeeda Warsi discussed Conservative Friends of Palestine (CFoP) at the annual conference of the Balfour Project charity in London on Wednesday last week.

She was introduced as being co-chair of a "welcome new body in the Conservative Party that supports Palestinian rights" in an apparent reference to CFoP, a video of the event showed.

During her speech, Warsi said she was proud to be a Balfour Project patron, adding that charities such as Medical Aid for Palestinians and healthcare training organisation IMET2000 do "essential work on the ground".

"And now, of course, can I add the newly formed Conservative Friends of Palestine – a much overdue parliamentary group at the heart of the Conservative Party challenging the oft-limited briefings within our political party and ensuring parliamentarians are at the very least informed," she said.

"The task for Conservative Friends of Palestine and all these other groups is to hold our government to account – in the Commons and in the Lords," Warsi added, referring to the two houses of the UK parliament.

CFoP provides a "platform to engage and learn beyond the narrow remit" of Conservative Friends of Israel, said Warsi, who in 2014 resigned as minister in Britain's government over its policy on Gaza.

"Let me give credit where credit is due. Over 35 parliamentarians have within the first two months joined" the new group, she said.

There are currently 354 Tory MPs and 261 Conservative members of the House of Lords, meaning some six percent of the party's parliamentarians have signed up, based on the number given by the baroness last week.

Warsi praised the government for having joined the West Bank Protection Consortium. The UK joined the initiative, created to keep Palestinians from being forcibly transferred, under former Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018.

But Warsi also took aim at controversial legislation reportedly set to be introduced soon. She said she believed the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Bill had been renamed the Foreign Affairs (Economic Activity of Public Bodies) Bill.

In 2022, a then-government minister said the "Foreign Affairs (Economic Activity of Publicly Funded Bodies) Bill" was also known as the BDS bill.

The bill is viewed as an attempt to thwart boycotts of Israel, though it would cover public bodies taking their own actions against other countries as well, according to a document published when the government announced its legislative agenda last year.

"Our government is wrong in its attempt to suffocate dissent, to muzzle free speech and to undermine arguments relating to ethical investments with [Communities Secretary] Michael Gove's BDS bill," Warsi said.

The baroness, a former co-chair of her party, also called for the UK government to recognise the state of Palestine "now".

In response to a request for comment, a spokesperson for the government said it has "made its position on boycotts clear".

"We are firmly opposed to local boycotts which can damage integration and community cohesion, hinder exports and harm our economic security," the spokesperson added.

"The government remains committed to our manifesto pledge to ban public bodies from imposing their own boycotts, disinvestment or sanctions campaigns. We will legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows."

The spokesperson confirmed the BDS bill will apply to campaigns against any country or territory that aren't in line with formal government restrictions and said its title will be announced when the legislation is put forward.

The UK wants an independent Palestinian state to be established and will give its recognition when most helpful to the aim of peace, the British government spokesperson said, adding that recognition alone wouldn't end the occupation.

A negotiated deal to resolve the conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis is required, the spokesperson said.

At last week's conference, Warsi said CFoP had already engaged with the British-Israeli and British-Palestinian communities and that people of all faiths and none have offered support.

Flick Drummond, Tory MP for the Meon Valley constituency, said she and Warsi had "re-established" the group.

"We have… surprisingly many friends in the party and that will grow as time goes on," Drummond added during a panel talk at the Balfour Project's event.

Another group with the name Conservative Friends of Palestine had been in existence but closed at the end of last year.

In 2022, it sent an emailed invitation for an ultimately cancelled fringe event at that year's Conservative Party Conference that said Drummond would participate.

However, The New Arab understands this grassroots group and the one Drummond was speaking about have no relationship.

Warsi previously discussed the newly created CFoP two days before the Balfour Project conference at an event in parliament commemorating the Nakba's 75th anniversary.

"I've been really quite heartened by the amount of support that we've had both from outside parliament and from within parliament," she said following a question asked by The New Arab.

Note: This article was updated at 21:55 GMT on 26 May 2023 after the UK government responded to a request for comment.

It was updated again at 12:33 GMT on 27 May 2023 to include a comment made in 2022 by a then-government minister about the name of the BDS bill.