Muslim Voters Express Concern Over Labour's Approach Towards Gaza

A former constituency MP lost his seat to an independent candidate amid signs of dissent over the party's Palestinian policy.

Jonathan Ashworth was ousted from Leicester South when Shockat Adam won by a significant margin on Thursday night, in what could have been one of election night's biggest upsets.

However, locals said they had long suspected the seat might be lost following signs that appeared to show residents were turning away from Labour due to Gaza-related issues and other factors.

"I was always a Labour voter but it became apparent [Ashworth] wasn't listening to us," Kauser Patel, 37, told The Independent. "He closed the door on us when he abstained from voting in the Gaza vote."

Despite winning by more than double his majority of almost 24,000 in 2019, Adam's campaign was taken somewhat by surprise at their victory, Patel said.

Ashworth had held the seat since being elected for Labour in 2015 and stood again despite facing defeat in Leicester South during the last general election of 2017.

Labour lost several other seats across England where dissent against its foreign policy was a major factor, including one to an independent candidate who campaigned on a platform of not taking part in "a war that is killing Palestinian civilians".

The Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Tracy Brabin said: "Today's results show the importance of our party delivering the policies we promised. It also shows just how much local democracy matters."

Iqbal Mohamed won in a predominantly Muslim area by an almost 7,000-vote margin over Labour'ayer Iqbal Hussain after he quit the party due to his disillusionment with its position on Israel.

The independent candidate said: "People are frustrated with what they see as a lack of leadership and direction in Westminster."

In an interview before leaving the Labour Party, Iqbal Hussain had told The Independent that he was disappointed at Ashworth's decision to abstain from voting on a no-confidence motion against Boris Johnson over his handling of Brexit.

He also expressed concern about Labour leader Keir Starmer not having supported the Palestinian cause, including during the 2018 vote by MPs in favour of allowing an air strike which killed at least nine people and injured dozens more.

"We're trying to find a way back home," he said last week. "The party was very much against my decision."

He told The Independent that the Labour Party had been unhelpful towards his campaign, having initially suggested it would take several months for him to be able to stand as an independent candidate in Leicester South. He eventually left the party and stood himself two days before polling day after receiving legal advice.

"I feel like I'm fighting for my life," he said on Thursday, following his victory at Leicester South, adding that it was "a big relief".

Patel, who helped Adam win in the same area where he had been standing before Labour chose not to stand a candidate this time around, echoed similar views. He told The Independent: "We wanted somebody on our side fighting for us and we didn't have someone."

In another victory for independent candidates opposed to Israel, Shockat Adam also took the seat of Blackburn with Darwen Labour MP Kieran Mullins by almost 12,000 votes. The constituency had previously been held by a Labour MP since 1974 and has traditionally voted strongly in favour of the party at every general election for decades.

The Independent candidate said he was "very pleased" with his victory, adding that Blackburn's voters felt disenfranchised by its members of parliament who were perceived to have abandoned them over Israel.

Shockat Adam had previously told The Independent: "I don't think people will be voting for Labour just because they are upset about one particular decision, but I do believe it is a factor."