The Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer has “no time” for members cheering on the Palestinian cause, the Shadow Chancellor has said, suggesting a shift since Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
Despite being removed from the Labour group in the House of Commons due to a row over antisemitism, Corbyn continues to weigh the party down, with a good portion of more working-class voters believing his influence is still felt. Some also remember that Sir Keir sat on Corbyn’s front bench. After the launch of this year’s Labour conference, Tim Stanley wrote in The Daily Telegraph that Starmer “didn’t have to do it; braver men resigned.” Current Labour officials are therefore keen to dispel the harmful impression that Corbyn is still front-and-centre.
They did this to an extent over the weekend when responding to Hamas’ attack on Israel. Sir Keir described this “terrorist attack” as “appalling,” while Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she has “no time” for Labour supporters who cheer on Hamas.
Bloomberg commented that the events
threatened to overshadow Starmer’s efforts to rally the Labour faithful Sunday as the party’s annual conference got underway in Liverpool. Still, the episode underlined the contrast with Corbyn, who passed up a chance to condemn the attack in a social media post emphasising the impact of Israel’s occupation.
Corbyn’s response, as this report suggests, was far less direct than that given by today’s Labour, describing the “unfolding events” as “deeply alarming” without pointing the finger in any specific direction.
The distinct responses appear to have struck a chord even with Britain’s more right-wing papers, which has taken Labour for its word while reminding readers that Corbyn once referred to Hamas as “friends” (a comment he later regretted).
There has, however, been criticism of the planned appearance of a Palestinian diplomat who said the slaughter of Israeli civilians by Hamas was “coming their way” at this week’s Labour conference. Husam Zomlot is due to speak alongside David Lammy, Labour’s foreign affairs spokesman and possible future foreign secretary, prompting some Tory commentators to suggest that the Labour party hasn’t really changed at all.
