Is Angela Rayner in danger of losing the Muslim Labour vote because of Starmer's support for Israel.

 

The 'Ginger Growler' - Angela Rayner MP

Angela Rayner MP, the deputy leader of the Labour Party, has appealed for the Muslim Labour vote in her constituency of Ashton and Failsworth. She recently told a meeting of largely Asian men, that Labour is doing everything to end the death and destruction in Gaza and said that she would resign if it would stop the killing in Gaza.

Starmer's support for Israel has alienated the Muslim Labour vote. The ongoing conflict in Gaza, was primarily responsible for the election of George Galloway in Rochdale on 29 February. Labour withdrew its support for its official candidate Azhar Ali, when he claimed that Israel had allowed the Hamas attack to happen on 7 October so that it could be used as a pretext for attacking Gaza.

Last November (2023), Angela Rayner abstained when given the chance to vote on the SNP's motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Some 56 Labour MPs rebelled against Sir Keir Starmer-oid to vote in favour of the motion but none of the three Tameside MPs, were among them.

In January, when Rayner appeared on Good Morning Britain, she was asked by Richard Madeley, "Do you think there are aspects of Genocide?” (in Gaza) Angela Rayner replied, "I don't know" and added that she thought the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was the correct place for that to be determined. Madeley than asked, "If you don't know, why have you thrown out a Labour MP who says what's happening is genocide?"

Rayner has repeatedly said that she would do "everything I possibly could" to stop the war in Gaza, but that doesn't seem to include, until recently, supporting calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

In February, Labour stopped MPs voting for another SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. They scuppered the SNP motion by moving an amendment that made a ceasefire in Gaza conditional. The government then announced that they would take no further part in proceedings and Tory whips told their MPs to abstain on the Labour motion. This meant that it passed without a vote and the SNP's motion was not debated. Starmer-oid admitted that he'd spoken to the Israeli president Isaac Herzog before embarking on the parliamentary maneuvers.

Labour is now calling for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" between Hamas and Israel. Since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel killing around 1,200 people, over 36,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza including more than 13,800 children.

Angela Rayner told the meeting in her constituency that if Labour gets elected on 4 July, it would recognise a Palestinian state. However, Sir Keir Starmer-oid has said that he would like to recognise a Palestinian state but such a move, would need to come at the right time in the peace process.

No matter how much Angela Rayner tries to whitewash Sir Keir Starmer's Gaza complicity, not everybody will be fooled. They remember that it was Starmer-oid who said that Israel had the 'right' to cut off water, food and energy, to the Palestinian people who are corralled in the Gaza strip. The Labour leader has also described himself as a committed "Zionist without qualification."

George Galloway's Workers Party of Britain (WPB) say they want to kick Rayner out of office. The WPB are standing a candidate against her called Aroma Hassan. Galloway claims that he has 15,000 supporters in Rayner's constituency and says that his party can "vitally affect" her chances of re-election. Angela Rayner is defending a 4,263 majority.