UK PM Starmer resurrects Blair-era politics, betrays Britons on Palestine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been avoiding describing Israel’s relentless war on Palestinians in Gaza as genocide, despite the Labour Party traditionally taking anti-war positions, except for a few occasions when Tony Blair endorsed the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

Starmer is echoing Blair-era politics, ignoring the majority public sentiment, as 73 percent of Britons support an unconditional ceasefire and 60 percent of the public thinks that Israel has gone too far with its war, according to the latest poll conducted by Ipsos.

This apparent divergence between public opinion and government policy raises serious questions about Britain’s moral priorities, and whether the country’s foreign policy caters to its national interest or the interests of foreign actors.

Public Opinion: Resounding Voice of Common Sense

The Labour Party voters also feel betrayed by the Starmer regime – 83 percent of them wanted to see Israel ending the war, according to YouGov’s February report.

The refusal of Labour leadership to back a ceasefire resolution in parliament, followed by a string of resignations of MPs in November 2023, has further alienated its voter base.

With the Starmer-led government lacking backbone to pressurize Israel to de-escalate, Britons are increasingly aware of its shortcomings, prompting 40 percent of the population rate Starmer’s and the Labour government’s performance as mediocre.

The disgruntlement is deep seated as 35 percent of the population consider Starmer to be bad at his job.

As a result, the country witnessed widespread protests, attended by hundreds of thousands of people demanding immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The most common chants on the streets were “End Arms Sales,” “Ceasefire Now,” and “Justice for Palestine”.

These protests were not an aberration but an expression endorsed by the majority of British society, representing diverse, political, religious and cultural backgrounds.

Government Stance: Policies Aligned with Allies, Not the Public

In Labour’s manifesto, it’s clearly mentioned that an independent Palestinian state is an “inalienable right” of Palestinians. The party has also pledged to support the two-state solution.

Yet, in practice, the Labour government has pursued diplomatic abstentions at the UN, arms sales, and policies that favour Israel’s war machine other than the besieged Palestinians, who are facing what many international experts have called genocide.

With the UK’s repeated abstentions from the ceasefire resolutions at the UN General Assembly, the country is isolating itself from the international community, as calls for justice are growing around the world.

The misplaced diplomatic rhetoric – that Israel can kill as many civilians in self defence – has been rejected far and wide. To pacify British citizens, Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the suspension of 30 arms sales licences of 350 to Israel. But the move failed to convince the public. It was rather viewed as a sign of tokenism.

The divided house

The macabre images of bloodshed in Gaza has pushed many European states to rethink their Israel policy. Countries such as Spain, Norway and Ireland have recognised Palestinian statehood, and forged an alternative path, which aligns with the global calls for justice for Palestine rather than catering to the hawkish military approach of US and its staunch pro-Israel allies.

The UK government’s reluctance to make Israel accountable for its war crimes and join the global efforts to end its war on Gaza, damages its reputation both at home and abroad. Its potential role as a neutral mediator in various conflicts has become questionable too.

While a YouGov EuroTrack survey from October 2024 shows that Western Europeans are clearly against military aid to Israel, even in the event of a full-scale war with Iran, the British public has displayed similar sentiments. This significant shift highlights the failure of Israel’s propaganda as well as weaknesses of Western states that are unable to stand up for justice and rein in an unruly force like Israel.

In the UK, the trust in the government is at stake, and further dissonance may lead to irreversible damage to social coherence - as Starmer’s inaction inadvertently clubs him with dark Zionist and far-right forces harbouring primordial hatred and enmity against Muslims.

For now, the Steamer administration has recorded high-level resignations of 50 councillors, among them prominent Labour figures such as mayors Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, along with the Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar. Many other leaders are smouldering with rage, feeling helpless and inadequate in the face of a live-streamed genocide that has been consistently playing on our phones since October 7 last year.