In Thursday’s elections, Labour faced setbacks in areas with substantial Muslim communities, losing five seats to independent candidates who support Hamas. The party’s position on the Gaza war led to protest votes, resulting in the loss or near-loss of several seats. A notable casualty was the Labour Shadow Cabinet’s Paymaster General Jonathan Ashworth, who lost his seat in Leicester South to Shockat Adam, an independent, who won Leicester South by less than 1,000 votes.
An exuberant Shockat declared, “This is for the people of Gaza!”
In Leicester East, the Conservative candidate Shivani Raja secured victory due to a divided progressive vote between Labour and a pro-Hamas Liberal Democrat candidate. This marks the first Conservative win in the constituency since 1983.
Labour faced setbacks in areas with significant Muslim populations. They failed to capture Dewsbury and Batley in West Yorkshire, as well as Blackburn in Lancashire, where Muslims comprise approximately 45% of the population.
In Birmingham Perry Barr, independent candidate Ayoub Khan narrowly defeated the Labour incumbent, winning by just over 500 votes.
Two prominent Labour figures faced unexpectedly close contests against pro-Hamas challengers. Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting retained his seat with a slim majority of 528 votes, while well-known backbencher Jess Phillips secured re-election with a margin of only 693 votes.
There was good news, too, on the Hamas front in the UK snap elections. Remember the Workers Party GB candidate in Oldham East and Saddleworth Shanaz Saddique I told you about last Tuesday (Labour Targets 24 Muslim Districts Where Pro-Hamas Vote Will Go to George Galloway’s Socialists)? Well, in Oldham East and Saddleworth, George Galloway’s Workers Party candidate Shanaz Saddique came in fourth, behind the Labour, Reform, and Conservative candidates. Workers Party’ endorsed Independent Oldham West candidate Zaffar Iqbal came second.
In the end, Labour successfully defended its two parliamentary seats in Oldham, securing solid victories despite competition from across the political spectrum. In Oldham East and Saddleworth, incumbent MP Debbie Abrahams, who has held the seat since 2011, emerged victorious with 14,091 votes. Meanwhile, in Oldham West, Chadderton, and Royton, Jim McMahon kept his seat, which he has occupied since 2015, garnering 13,332 votes.
Chingford and Woodford Green remained under Conservative control as former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith retained his seat. The opposition vote was divided between Labour and Faiza Shaheen, an independent candidate and vocal pro-Hamas activist. Shaheen, who had been dropped as a Labour candidate by party leader Keir Starmer soon after the election was announced, ran independently.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn, the spotted former Labour leader, secured victory in Islington North as an independent. His win brings the total of pro-Hamas independent MPs to six. This group is expected to exert pressure on the Labour Party regarding its stance on the Gaza war.
