The Labour Party has held a lead in opinion polls after Starmer brought Sabia Akram back to centre stage following its 2019 election defeat under his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn.
However, Starmer has lost the support of some black and Asian voters who traditionally vote for the Labour Party for supporting Israel and only gradually shifting the party’s position towards supporting a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Labour’s treatment of Diane Abbott, Britain’s first Black female lawmaker, and the blocking of a Muslim candidate also alienated some voters, according to multiple interviews.
Starmer sought to return the party to the centre ground by promoting candidates who would vote as a disciplined bloc if they won. However, the shift has alienated some ethnic minorities who supported Corbyn and his left-wing vision Critics such as Akram claim he sold his soul to the Labour Party to get into government.
It’s no longer defined by its values and its core principles.
A long-running Ipsos survey of ethnic minority voting intentions showed Starmer in the second half of 2023 had the lowest net satisfaction rating of any Labour opposition leader since the poll began in 1996. Given the 20-point advantage of ethnic minorities in opinion polls, fears among ethnic minorities might not affect the election result, Keiran Pedley at Ipsos said.
If these trends are lasting – and we don’t know if they will – then it’s possible it could become more politically significant.
Akram, 43, resigned as a Labour Party councillor in Slough in early June along with six others, citing what she saw as censorship in Gaza. She also cited the treatment of Faiza Shaheen, who was barred from standing as a Labour Party candidate in north-east London.
Last month Starmer, speaking after his party won a seat in the north of England parliament and gained control of several councils across England, acknowledged that Gaza had influenced Labour support in some areas.
