Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that Labour members of parliament who have publicly denounced Britain’s military action against the Houthis in Yemen were “wrong”.
Speaking to the JC at the Jewish Labour Movement (JLM) annual conference at JW3, Starmer said that the “Labour Party front bench speaks with one voice” [on the war]. Starmer said, “I made it very clear what is and is not tolerable…I will never be shy of taking necessary action”.
Starmer said Labour MP Apsana Begum “was wrong” when she labelled UK action against the Houthis in Yemen as “shameful, deplorable, beyond unacceptable” at the anti-Israel rally on Saturday.
Starmer also said it was no longer Labour policy to recognise a Palestinian state on day one of government, although recognition of the state would be “an integral part of the peace process”. The Labour leader said: “We are committed to the two-state solution.”
Wayne David MP echoed Starmer’s comments saying: “The Labour Party has formally changed its position” on recognising a Palestinian state.
Starmer used his speech to acknowledge that the antisemitism at anti-Israel rallies was “hiding in plain sight and we need to call it out for what it is”.
The Labour leader said: “British antisemitism did not begin on October 7, this is an old hatred, not a new one”. Starmer praised the work of the Community Security Trust (CST) and received wide applause when he pledged: “This country will be safe for you and your children.”
Dame Margaret Hodge, Baroness Ruth Anderson, Luciana Berger and Dame Louise Ellman sat on the front row for Starmer’s packed-out address. The four politicians were hounded by members of the Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership. Starmer heaped praise on the women, whose presence was a mark of the leader's efforts to combat antisemitism in the party. Starmer also thanked JLM for helping “to save the Labour Party.”
In a moment he described as “emotional” and “humbling”, the Labour leader signalled to Luciana Berger, who was hounded out of the party under Corbyn but is now back taking on a key role in tackling mental health. Starmer said, "It is fantastic to have Luciana back doing frontline work for us." He said it was "further evidence of the change that we've made, the progress we have made as a party."
Wes Streeting, Luciana Berger, and Keir Starmer at JW3
Elsewhere in Starmer’s speech, he said he had “been directly involved in Camden interfaith work”. “I thought from my own experience that the cooperation and understanding and mutual support was much deeper than it really is.” Rather than abandoning interfaith work, Starmer told the JC, “we’ve got to double down and do even more.”
He went on: “Cross party working is important for all of our communities, and nobody should be seeking to make party politics out of this.”
In a separate discussion, Anneliese Dodds MP said, “we haven’t devoted enough attention to…difficult questions about how we bring communities together”.
In an unannounced guest appearance at the conference, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I know that not everyone agrees with every word I said about the conflict over the past few months.
“But I also know that our friendship will endure because we are united by far more. Belief that civilisation and violence are incompatible. Faith that dialogue is the only route to a viable future.”
Sadiq Khan speaking at the Jewish Labour Movement's annual one-day conference
When asked about the anti-Israel protests, Khan emphasised the need for impartial law enforcement: "I cannot ban certain marches because I do not agree with their views.”
Khan told the JC that the Met Police were “using the laws available to them to prosecute individuals at the rallies” who were breaking the law. The mayor said that the Met are investigating the presence of terror-related flags at the rallies, as well as the chant: “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around.”
In another conference address the Shadow Secretary of State of Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, voiced concerns that IDF strikes in Gaza were not "targeted enough." Streeting also emphasised the threat of war in the Middle East driving communities apart.
Wes Streeting in conversation with Jonathan Freedland
In a separate discussion about the threat of Iran, Shadow Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Minister, Wayne David MP, advocated for designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist group, branding Iran as a "fundamentally malignant force for bad in the world."
Regarding Iran's nuclear capabilities, David warned that Iran is "quite close" to acquiring nuclear capability, suggesting it could happen “within a year”.
David said that Iran supplies weapons to “useful proxies” Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis. Discussing Yemen, David stressed the importance of curbing Houthi actions in the “short term” but cautioned against long-term objectives and expressed concerns about being drawn into a protracted conflict.
The shadow minister said he was “hopeful” that Saudi Arabia had realised "recognising Israel was important to the future of peace”. David said, “Arab states must be more involved in peace”, including in the civil administration of Gaza.
David suggested that a framework for peace could be “based on economic prosperity [in the Middle East] and a recognition of a Palestinian state”. He warned that “you cannot simply defeat an amorphous organisation like Hamas with military action, you need to have dialogue”. He noted that a future Palestinian state would need to “come to fruition in a way that is acceptable to the State of Israel,” and that this would “require moderation on both sides”.
David also acknowledged the danger of “overemphasising” Britain’s influence in the region and advocated for a dedicated minister solely focused on the Middle East. The portfolio is currently held by Baron Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and the United Nations.
Elsewhere at the conference, Baron Peter Mandelson PC expressed "huge admiration and respect" for Prime Minister Isaac Herzog, whom he recently met in Israel.
Mandelson condemned South Africa’s case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), saying: "It is as if the hostages themselves are on trial." Mandelson vehemently rejected any moral equivalence between Israel's actions and those of Hamas and said the ICJ case was “cynical.”
Mandelson went on to praise Keir Starmer's leadership, acknowledging that Starmer has "overseen the biggest turnaround in our party's condition." Mandelson characterised Corbyn's era as a "conspiracy" and a "cabal enveloped by antisemitism”.
In other sessions, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, criticised the Higher Education freedom of speech act, voicing concerns about its contribution to fostering hatred on campuses. When asked about antisemitism in British schools, Phillipson told the JC it was “important all teachers feel that they can lead discussions in a way that is respectful”. She cited the need for “ongoing support for teachers” when it comes to dealing with the proliferation of antisemitic classroom materials.
The conference closed with Baroness Ruth Anderson in conversation with Dame Margaret Hodge. The pair spoke of a recent and “harrowing” trip to Israel. Hodge also recalled her arrival in the UK as a refugee from Egypt in 1949 and remarked that the kibbutz she visited on her trip to Israel had been built by Egyptian refugees.
Mike Katz presenting Dame Margaret Hodge MP with flowers at the JLM conference on Sunday January 14
Hodge spoke at length about her work as leader of Islington Council and the harassment she faced in Corbyn’s Labour Party. She said that Corbyn “couldn’t listen and engage” on antisemitism. Hodge was assisted by lawyers when the Labour Party tried to deselect her. Ultimately, Hodge stayed in the Labour Party and Corbyn had the whip removed. Hodge said she would have “loved to have Corbyn with a day in court” as there was so much evidence against the former leader of the party.
Member for Barking since 1994, Hodge will not stand at the next general election. JLM National Chair Mike Katz presented Hodge with a bouquet as he thanked her for her efforts as JLM Parliamentary Chair.
The JLM conference took over the entirety of JW3 and was the biggest single day activity in the north-west London Jewish community centre's ten-year history.
