Tag: labour party

  • Members of UK Labour Party resign in support of Palestine

    Members of UK Labour Party resign in support of Palestine

    Several members of the Labour Party have resigned since the Israel bombing of escalation on October 7.

    The Labour Party is currently in the opposition in the UK whose leader, Keir Starmer, recently stated that Israel has the “right” to cut power and water supplies to Gaza. Similar comments were issued by prominent members including shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry and shadow defence minister John Healey.

    This was followed by a resignation from Oxford City councillor Shaista Aziz. As a former international aid worker, she has worked in the occupied West Bank, Israel, and refugee camps in Gaza.

    Middle East Eye spoke to her and she said, “The Labour Party leader’s stance on not being able to condemn collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza was the final red line for me,”.

    In an interview, Strarmer was asked about the seige, blockade, and the killing by Israel to which he replied that while all action must be taken within the international law, “I don’t want to step away from the core principles that Israel has the right to defend herself.”

    Among other Labour councillors who have resigned are Amar Latif, Mairéad Healy and Jessie Hoskin.

    “As a working GP, I am deeply distressed by the loss of all innocent lives in both Palestine and Israel. However, it cannot be right that there is collective punishment in direct contravention of international law, and it is incumbent on all leaders at a local, national and international level to speak out against this,” said Latif.

    Similarly, Hopkins stated, “I was elected because I believe in human dignity for everyone without exception. The Labour Party no longert reflects those views,”

    While Healy said the Labour leadership was “encouraging collective punishment towards the Palestinian people by condoning the indiscriminate withholding of water and energy supplies in Gaza,” which she believes is illegal under international law.

  • 23 Pakistani Origin women running for office in England

    23 Pakistani Origin women running for office in England

    More than 1,000 women will be running for elections in the United Kingdom in the general elections on December 12. Out of the 1,000, 23 women have Pakistani or Kashmiri roots.

    Naz Shah is a Labour Party MP. She was appointed to a junior Shadow Ministerial role as  Shadow Minister of State for Women and Equalities.

    Nine of the Pakistani origin women are running for a parliamentary seat for the Labour Party. Three out of the nine women – Yasmin Qureshi, Naz Shah and Shabana Mahmood – were members of the previous two Parliaments.

    Yasmin Qureshi is with the Labour Party. She headed the criminal legal section of the UN Mission in Kosovo
    Shabana Mahmood is a British Labour Party politician and barrister, who has been the Member of Parliament since 2010

    Five Pakistani origin women are running for a parliamentary seat on a Conservative Party ticket. One of them – Nusrat Ghani – has been elected twice before and was also a minister in the previous two cabinets.

    Nusrat Ghani, also known as Nus Ghani is with the Conservative Party.  She currently serves as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport and Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

    Two candidates – Irum Altaf Kiyani and Humera Kamran are contesting as independents.