UK election: Labour loses 4 seats to pro-Palestinian independent candidates

Despite a big day for the UK's Labour Party, they faced a setback in the general election as they lost four seats to pro-Palestine independent candidates and encountered close races in several others, in results announced early on Friday.

One of the most high-profile defeats was Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister, who lost his Leicester South seat to independent Shockat Adam by just under 1,000 votes. “This is for Gaza,” Adam said after his victory, as reported by The Guardian.

In Blackburn, Labour’s Kate Hollern narrowly lost to independent Adnan Hussain by fewer than 200 votes. Similarly, in Dewsbury and Batley, Heather Iqbal, a former adviser to the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, was defeated by Iqbal Mohamed by nearly 7,000 votes.

Besides, in Birmingham Perry Barr, former Labour MP Khalid Mahmood lost to the independent Ayoub Khan.

Other Labour MPs faced tight contests as well. In Ilford, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting managed to retain his seat by just 528 votes, narrowly beating independent candidate Leanne Mohamad.

Rushanara Ali held her seat in Bethnal Green and Bow by a little over 1,500 votes, despite anger in the local Bangladeshi community over Keir Starmer’s comments about deporting Bangladeshi asylum seekers with refused claims, The Guardian reports.

Labour had anticipated challenges from pro-Palestinian candidates across the country and hoped that voters who shifted during local elections would return for the general election. However, they overestimated the extent of this return.

Starmer faced heavy criticism for his early comments in the Middle East conflict, where he stated that Israel had the right to withhold power and water from Gaza civilians. This criticism worsened when Labour did not support a Scottish National Party motion for an immediate ceasefire, even though the party later passed a similar motion.

Labour campaigners reported harassment. In Birmingham, they had to call the police twice during the final campaign weekend.