Shadow cabinet ministers mull resignations and others unhappy with both Gaza stance and general performance, say insiders
Keir Starmer has been accused by party insiders of ‘throwing tantrums’ in his office and being ‘all over the place’ as fire comes in from all wings of the party over his abysmal and inhumane handling of Israel’s war on Gazan civilians – and his general performance as leader.
At least two shadow cabinet ministers, non-Muslims, are considering resigning over Gaza – news also broken by ITV’s Shehab Khan – while well-placed party sources have said Starmer is unable to cope with the criticism and the way in which his backing for Israeli war crimes and his attempts to save face with Muslim voters have exploded. One told Skwawkbox:
He’s having pretty regular tantrums now, it’s not a pretty sight but he isn’t coping with the pressure of the Gaza uproar and on top of that he’s facing revolt and not just from what remains of the left in the party. Plenty of people on the right are deeply unhappy with his performance and his inability to handle any adverse opinion. He’s fine when [Tory PM Rishi] Sunak and the Tories are falling apart but seems to just seize up when he faces criticism.
Starmer’s refusal to criticise Israel’s violence in Gaza is so extreme that Labour asked Parliament to change the official record yesterday so that front-bencher Flo Eshalomi’s call for a ceasefire in the beleaguered strip so that text record now reads ‘humanitarian corridor’.
Observers have previously commented on Starmer’s inability to think on his feet when faced with even the mildest scrutiny – but it seems he is facing a building storm within his party over the resignations of Muslim councillors and Labour’s collapse among Muslim voters and others outraged by his readiness to support Israel’s targeting of schools, hospitals and refugees in Gaza, as well as his failure to act over the alleged and proven abuse and sexual misconduct toward women by senior party figures.
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