Labor has some “research” to do following its underperformance in areas with high Muslim populations, according to MP Jess Phillips.
Speaking to political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, the Birmingham Yardley MP said her party will have to “wake up and face” the issues that are causing it to lose seats to the Greens, independents and Workers’ Party of Great Britain.
Ms Phillips said: “There are some issues regarding independents and the Greens that Labor will have to wake up and deal with tomorrow morning, Monday morning, whenever that may be.
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“There are results in places, you know, in Labor’s heartland, where they are holding the council, of course, in places like Newcastle where the Greens are making great progress.
“I really expect, as the mayoral votes come in, that in places like Birmingham, Bradford, places with large Muslim populations, like we saw overnight in Oldham, the Labor Party will have some questions, and some looking to do it themselves.
“However, you can’t put it any other way than as if it was a good night for the Labor Party.”
Sky News analysis shows that areas with a Muslim population below 5% saw Labor’s vote share increase by 1.1 percentage points.
But areas with a Muslim population above 20% saw Sir Keir Starmer’s party lose 17.9 points of vote share.
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One issue likely to impact the Muslim vote is Labor’s position on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Labor lost control of Oldham and Kirklees councils, with victories for independent candidates opposed to the party’s stance on the war in Gaza.
It is difficult to determine the exact impact on the election, as a number of Labor councilors have left the party over Labour’s stance on the Middle East conflict.
George Galloway’s British Workers’ Party also targeted Labor seats on the Gaza issue and won four – including unseating Manchester deputy council leader Luthfur Rahman in Longsight.
The BBC reported that Labor were pessimistic about their chances in the West Midlands mayoral race – which covers Ms Phillip’s constituency – with one journalist saying a Labor source told them: “It’s the Middle -East, and not the West Midlands, which will have won Street. The town hall. Once again, Hamas is the real villain. »
This was publicly decried by the Labor Party, with shadow general treasurer Jonathan Ashworth saying: “This is completely unacceptable. I am pleased that the Labor Party condemned it quickly and rightly.
“This is a racist quote that does not come from anyone who speaks on behalf of the party or whose values are welcome within the party.”
Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow secretary of state, was asked on Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge whether the party’s position would change.
She added that the party “recognizes” that its position on the conflict has been a “factor in certain areas”.
Ms Cooper added that there were areas where Gaza was “partly” a factor and there were also “council factors”.
She added: “So it’s a lot of different things.
“But there is no doubt that many people are very sensitive to this situation – and rightly so, because tens of thousands of people have been killed, the majority of them women and children.
“We desperately need an immediate ceasefire, but we have released the hostages. We need the urgent humanitarian action that is needed.”
Sky news