Gaza war a priority issue for 1 in 5 UK Asian voters

A woman exits a polling station at St. George’s Cathedral in London, Thursday, July 4, 2024. (AP Photo)
Short Url
Updated 04 July 2024
Follow

Gaza war a priority issue for 1 in 5 UK Asian voters

  • Study reveals loss of trust in Labour Party as Britain heads to polls
  • Many Muslims ‘pained by what is happening in Gaza’: Muslim Council of Britain chief

LONDON: The Gaza war is a top issue for one in five Asian voters in the UK, The Independent reported on Thursday.

As the British public heads to the polls for the July 4 general election, a new study conducted by the newspaper revealed that some Muslim voters have “lost their trust” in Labour over the party’s stance on the war.

But Labour still “looks set to match their strong national performance” with a high vote share among ethnic minorities in Britain, said Ed Hodgson, research manager at More in Common.

Asian voters are six times more likely to view the war as a “major issue” compared to white voters (20 percent versus 3 percent), it found.

Though Labour may have harmed its reputation with Muslim voters, the issue may only become relevant after the election, Hodgson said.

Party leader Keir Starmer has faced criticism over his decision to avoid calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in favor of “humanitarian pauses.”

The poll “highlights significant concerns across Muslim communities and wider British society,” said Zara Mohammed, general secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain.

“Many are pained by what is happening in Gaza and are dissatisfied with the political response from the major parties and the current leadership,” she added.

“There is also a strong desire to ensure that Britain is not complicit in the ongoing genocide case against Israel.

“For the upcoming election, it will be crucial for the next prime minister and government to effectively achieve a long-term peaceful solution in the Middle East.”

According to the poll, 19 percent of Asian voters say a Labour victory would make their life worse.


Zelensky to meet European leaders in Berlin Monday: Germany

Updated 51 min 21 sec ago
Follow

Zelensky to meet European leaders in Berlin Monday: Germany

BERLIN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to travel to Berlin on Monday and meet European leaders as well as the heads of the EU and NATO, German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said.
Zelensky will attend a German-Ukrainian business forum and discuss “the status of peace negotiations in Ukraine” with Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Kornelius said on Friday.
“In the evening, numerous European heads of state and government, as well as the leaders of the EU and NATO, will join the talks,” he said in a statement.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be among the leaders attending the talks in Berlin, a UK government official said.
The meeting will be part of a flurry of diplomacy around a plan to end the conflict in Ukraine originally proposed by US President Donald Trump last month.
Ukrainian officials on Wednesday said they had sent Washington an updated version of the plan, building on Trump’s original 28-point proposal.