“I want to be able to strongly advocate for a ceasefire, as called for by the UN General Secretary”, says former New Deal shadow minister
Bradford East Labour MP Imran Hussain has dramatically resigned from Keir Starmer’s front bench tonight over Starmer’s refusal to support a ceasefire in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Announcing the news, Hussain tweeted:
I want to be able to strongly advocate for a ceasefire, as called for by the UN General Secretary. In order to be fully free to do so, I have tonight stepped down from Labour’s Frontbench.
His resignation letter to Starmer states:
…over recent weeks, it has become clear that my view on the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza differs substantially from the position you have adopted.
As I write, more than 1,400 Israeli and over 10,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed in the last month. This shocking number of fatalities is set to grow as indiscriminate attacks and the siege of Gaza continues. Yesterday, the United Nations Secretary-General warned that Gaza is becoming a “graveyard for children· and stated that a humanitarian ceasefire becomes “more urgent with every passing hour.”
Given the crisis unfolding, I wish to be a strong advocate for the humanitarian ceasefire advocated by the UN General Secretary, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN humanitarian bodies, by numerous governments, and by leading humanitarian organisations like Oxfam, Save the Children and Amnesty International. It is clear that I cannot sufficiently, in all good conscience, do this from the frontbench given its current position.
A ceasefire is essential to ending the bloodshed, to ensuring that enough aid can pass into Gaza and reach those most in need, and to help ensure the safe return of the Israeli hostages.
As I made clear to the Foreign Secretary on Tuesday 24 October 2023, the situation in Gaza is now beyond that of a humanitarian catastrophe. The cutting of food, water, power and medicine to Palestinians in Gaza is an act of collective punishment that violates international law and is a clear war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
Like many others, I was therefore deeply troubled by the comments you made during an LBC interview on 11 October 2023 where you appeared to endorse such actions by the Israeli military. Whilst I appreciate your subsequent statements to clarify your comments and the increased emphasis being placed on addressing the desperate situation in Gaza, and whilst we both want to end the bloodshed, I believe the party needs to go further and call for a ceasefire.
I have unequivocally condemned Hamas’s attacks of 07 October and I firmly agree that every country has the right to defend itself. This however can never become a right to deliberately violate international law on protecting civilians or to commit war crimes. It has always been my view, which I’ve made clear repeatedly in Parliament, that human rights are universal and that it is our duty to call out all those who violate international law and commit war crimes.
I will therefore continue to press from the backbenches for a humanitarian ceasefire to protect civilians in line with the demands of the UN Secretary-General and, beyond that, for the realisation of a lasting resolution that will deliver peace for Israelis and Palestinians as part of a two-state solution.
Keir Starmer has consistently claimed that Israel has a ‘right’ to take the actions that have been described by the UN and human rights agencies as ‘textbook genocide’ and other war crimes – and has refused to call for a ceasefire, despite the United Nations’ call for an end to the mass murder of children and civilians, the bombing of hospitals and the Israeli regime’s killing of dozens of medics, teachers and aid workers.
Five or six other front-benchers are said to be close to resignation and will face increased pressure to do so now.
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We ALL have to do what is right, morally. With a GE coming up, we MUST have a REAL LABOUR PARTY TO VOTE FOR, not just a party that is marginally “least worse”.
Morally. How long did this Nelson Mandela tribute act have to ponder. Err.. is it right to deny babies water, food, life? Let me rest my great brain and ponder. I despise them especially the faux dissidents. That building in which you are so comfortably esconsed supports the bombing and starvation of babies. Expenses laden hypocrite.
STARMER MUST STEP DOWN. He does not represent the views of true Labour supporters and never has. STREETING must step down. He has leanings towards a semi-privatised National Health Service. NOW more than ever, we MUST have a real Labour Party we can vote for.
Keef resigned from a front bench position.
Surrender the whip, Hussain. Lead by example. Your (constituency MP) predecessor had the stones to say this about Israel a few years back…
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/18/david-ward-whip-israel-apartheid-state
…Was he wrong? Amnesty international don’t think so. Millions up & down the country don’t think so, with more people becoming aware of the validity of those words with each passing day.
So, go the whole hog. Resign the whip. Make it as difficult and uncomfortable for keef and the zionists without qualification to justify their stance. Go bigger, and get the attention.
Because let’s face it, after being a corbynist and nominating RLB & Burgon in the leadership campaign, you were only ever on the smarmerist front bench as a junior; a “token”. You were never gonna make into as much a lofty position as N.I. sec. in any smarmerist cabinet. And they’d have eventually found a reason to bin you off into obscurity anyway.
insert the word ‘dump’ before ‘theguardian.com/…….” and this happens
https://www.dumptheguardian.com/politics/2013/jul/18/david-ward-whip-israel-apartheid-state
and you get the archived version of the guardian’s content. Easy! No more theguardian on your computer…
BTW Toffee, great post. I couldn’t agree more. Resign the whip and dump the guardian
sorry for hijacking your EXCELLENT. point/post TT, but to get a better handle on the dumpthegaurdian thing, refer to media lens. Here’s a howto: https://theguardian.fivefilters.org/how-to-share/#howto
Thank you for that ‘qwertboi’. I have been increasingly disgusted with The Guardian’s ‘moderation’ in Comments – censorship by any other name. It has of course been particularly bad regarding Israel/Palestine, but even yesterday regarding the state opening of parliament some bizarre moderation went on. So indeed I am going to ‘dump’ The Guardian in more ways than one! It’s never been a left wing paper but it did have genuinely good journalism back in the day and it’s founders must be turning over their graves.
And to do that I just stick ‘dump’ in front of ‘theguardian’ on the URL thing, qwerty??
I’ll try to remember that. 👍
By the way, that’s no disrespect to the people of N.I. whatsoever.
I believe the N.I. secretarial position is considered (within parliamentary circles) the cabinet position nobody wants. At least that’s what I gathered from satirical TV shows.
In 2012 in a by-election in Bradford West, George Galloway stormed to a surprise victory because of his position over the Iraq war.
His Labour opponent presented himself as a “Pakistani Muslim”.
His voters turned out in their thousands to vote for a Scottish Catholic.
I was working in Bradford at that time.
I didn’t see it coming.
My many Pakistani friends told me that G.G. was going to win.
I didn’t believe them – Till it happened.
I hope that Hussain’s “stepping-aside” is more than a tactical move to save his ass in Bradford.
His position on the shadow front bench may have been mere tokenism on Starver’s part, but I suspect that Hussain may have really bought into it.
Careerism and false pride can run deep.
Reply to Johnsco1
I have been thinking the same about Imran Hussain motivation .After all it has taken a month of the party turning a blind eye to mass murder ( including the massacre of 4000 children) for him to resign from the front bench of a Zionist leader who has asserted Israel’s right to withhold water and power from the people of Gaza whose hospitals ambulances schools refugee camps mosques and churches have been bombed every day. Zionist Labour views this bombing and the completely foreseeable deaths which result as Israel “defending itself”
Hussain to his shame retained the Labour whip of couse and has simply moved from the front to the back bench incurring no loss whatsoever
What’s worse he is the only MP to make a stand of any sort.Every single Muslim Jew Christian MP or MP of any religion or no religion, every single Rightinger,Leftwinger, Centrist, Front and back bencher remains a Labour MPs despite the blatant war crimes committed in Gaza which the Party has failed to even acknowledge. Starmer Lammy and the rest of the Zionist leadership’s double talk about the issues doesn’t fool anybody . The Zionist leadership has made it absolutely clear that like all Zionists it is willing to give Israel free rein to kill as many innocent Palestinians as they want in so called “self defence”yet none of these MPs have resigned.
Also nobody has stood down from the NEC, only 47 Labour councillors ( or thereabouts) out of thousands sitting in town and city halls throughout the country have resigned and despite their fine talk neither Khan nor Burnham nor any other mayor has resigned. The leaders in Scotland and Wales remain in place.
They are all a disgrace, completely without honour, each and every one of them. My heart breaks for the people of Gaza and the occupied territories and the lack of humanity displayed by Zionist Labour will never be forgotten by decent people everywhere.
Galloway’s Labour opponent in 2012 in Bradford West was the same Imran Hussain.
G.G. crushed Hussain in the by-election with a 36 per cent swing from Labour to Galloway.
Hussain rightly has a long memory, and can doubtless see the writing on the wall.
Galloway got the biggest cheer at his 3am victory party when he shouted: “Long Live Palestine!” Many of his most loyal supporters in Bradford have joined him on his Viva Palestina aid convoys to Gaza.
Galloway has always spoken the truth about Israel and Gaza.
He has been consistent and courageous in his support for Palestine.
No wonder the Labour Centrists hate him !
Long live Palestine !
I am no fan of the growler but I would love him to ditch his mayoral pretensions and stand against this person, even just for milk monitor. Your party is knee deep in these self indulgent creeps. Out vile jellies.
One of Galloway’s finest examples of his accomplished oratory skills was his testimony in front of the US Senate Sub Committee after the Iraq war.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5u1skEoqLs
It’s a joy to watch and listen to.
It was widely appreciated among the Pakistani community in Bradford West.
I’m sure Imran Hussain will have watched it.
The fun starts after 6 minutes.
Enjoy !
I hope it’s more than a tactical move too, johnsco1. The only way we can know for sure is if he, Imran Hussein, takes Toffee’s advice and resigns the whip.
Resign the Labour Whip, Imran.
Let’s hope!
Can you do that and keep exes and wages and junkers. Can you, pretty please, it’s for the kiddies.
We live in hope ……. If not in expectation !!
I hope I’m wrong.
There are several problematic issues with Hussain’s resignation and resignation statement.
Firstly, as has already been alluded to, the length of time taken to get to this point coupled with the failure to resign the whip calls into question the motivation – suggesting concerns over keeping the seat may well be involved?
Secondly, the acceptance in Hussain’s statement that 1400 Israeli civilians were all killed by Hamas on 7th October despite the availability of evidence to the contrary from within Israel itself.
At present the official published figures from Haaratz show Israeli 762 civilians on and since October 7th – and some of those are listed with either reserve and non reserve military ranks separate from the 314 in the military filter of the list.
Moreover, as has been pointed out on this site and numerous other sources/forums, the Israeli media has numerous articles and recorded interviews with Israeli civilian survivors from October 7th attesting to the fact that many Israeli civilians lost their lives as a result of being deliberately shot and shelled by an ill disciplined and panicked IDF.
There are even quotes from within the IDF of attack helicopters firing indiscriminately at fleeing vehicles and civilians from the rave party.
Until a thorough professional investigation is carried out it therefore dangerously disingenuous, irresponsible and inexcusable for anyone, particularly an elected MP, to continue to give credence to such evidence free claims.
Finally, the elephant in the room over the matter of self defence.
As Pepe Escobar points out here……
https://new.thecradle.co/articles/russias-public-pivot-to-palestine
….the UN and International law does not support this claim on the part of Israeli and its Western support for its very obvious war crimes.
However, the other aspect of the claim of self-defence is that of whether those making such a claim are doing so on the basis of the principle rather than picking and choosing to whom it applies and does not apply.
Either everyone has the right to self-defence or no one does. What this mealy mouthed section of Hussain’s statement is actually doing is going along with the double standard in play here that the Palestinians do not have the right to self defence.
Every claim so far is based on evidence free lies which would not stand up in court. As such Hussain’s stance is not only too little, too late it is trying to have his cake and eat it by continuing to amplify the false Official Narrative which does not stand up to scrutiny.
Dave, well done. Wish that I could be so disciplined about this and newbies with concionsces. Some topics bring on a real rage from within, that children are part of the offence just makes me lose it. Lord help me but I wish that I was a young socialist again and not wrapped in a wheelchair.