Why Muslim voters turned their backs on Starmer’s Labour

In an otherwise jubilant night for Labour, the party has performed badly in areas with a high proportion of Muslim voters. So far, Labour has lost five seats with large Muslim populations – four to independent candidates and one to the Conservatives. The party’s vote is down on average by 11 points in seats where more than 10 per cent of the population identify as Muslim, with pro-Gaza candidates making significant inroads. Labour has been wary throughout this campaign of the impact that the Middle East crisis would have on its vote in urban areas with significant numbers of Muslim voters. It followed comments last year by the Labour leader, Sir Keir Starmer, in which he said Israel had the right to withhold water and power from civilians in Gaza. Starmer has also faced criticism from Muslim voters for being too slow to call for a ceasefire.

In one of the biggest shocks of the night, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office Minister, lost his Leicester South seat to the independent, Adam Shockat, who declared: ‘This is for Gaza’. Ashworth