Starmer’s local ‘Labour’ council hides to pass change to avoid Gaza scrutiny

Camden goes behind closed doors to avoid protest at change to ban residents raising issues of support for international war crimes

At a council meeting last night, Keir Starmer’s ‘Labour’-led local Camden council hid from local residents and community groups to push through a vote to allow the council to evade scrutiny of its policies and investments relating to Palestine and Israel – a measure strongly opposed by locals and activists, who have condemned them as anti-democratic. 

Camden Council, which has tens of millions invested in Israel and Israel-linked firms, was holding a vote to implement amendments to its constitution designed to limit pro-Palestine organising and to shield itself from public accountability. The changes included restricting deputations and petitions exclusively to ‘local issues’, formalising the mayor’s power to close meetings to the public and extending the timeframe for repeat deputations to nine months in what is seen as a direct attack on public participation and transparency.

Locals say that the move is a direct response to Camden Friends of Palestine’s recent organising – where at the last council meeting over 300 people protested the council’s complicity in investing in companies linked to Israeli war crimes, as the council debated a petition signed by more than 4,000 residents – in an attempt to silence opposition, shut down democracy and undermine residents’ ability to raise concerns and hold elected representatives to account.

The council meeting to pass these changes was open to the public. However, when the council leader saw the extent of opposition in the public gallery, the councillors left the chamber and hid behind closed doors to pass the resolution.

One Camden resident and spokesperson for Camden Friends of Palestine said: 

Camden Council has consistently ignored the clear wishes of its residents. It is deeply shocking that, instead of listening to the community’s calls for accountability, the council has chosen to impose undemocratic restrictions that limit public participation. 

Camden appears to be one of the few councils in England to adopt such regressive measures. It’s no surprise that this would happen under Starmer’s leadership, where the interests of the community are being sidelined in favour of consolidating power.”

While the proposals are extensive, some of the most worrying aspects are outlined below:

• Restricting deputations and petitions to “local issues”: Narrowing the scope of issues that can be raised in council meetings is seen as a direct response to the last council meeting, where over 4,000 local residents called on Camden Council to divest from companies complicit in human rights abuses and the illegal occupation of Palestine. This new proposal limits residents’ ability to hold the council accountable on important issues like Israel’s genocide in Gaza – a shameful departure from Camden’s history of internationalist solidarity and opposition to apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s. The council’s £83 million investment in complicit companies shows that global issues are also entirely local.
• Proposal to exclude political candidates from the deputation process: The proposal to exclude individuals standing for political office or involved in local politics from the deputation process raises serious concerns. It seems designed to limit opposition and could unfairly favour incumbents. In a system already biased against third parties, this move risks further entrenching that imbalance, effectively preventing potential challengers from having a voice.
• Extending block on repeated deputations: The proposed extension of the timeframe for repeated deputations to nine months is a clear attempt to limit the organising power of groups like Camden Friends of Palestine. If issues can be dismissed and not raised again for nine months, residents are not able to hold the council properly accountable.
• Banning banners at council meetings.
• Closing meetings to the public: Camden Council has previously closed meetings on numerous occasions to shut out the public, and now they seek to codify and formalise this process. 

Green councillor Lorna Jane Russell, the only councillor who has supported Camden Friends of Palestine, questioned the proposed changes:

Banners are a peaceful way for residents to voice concerns in a space where decisions affecting them are made. I’m concerned that barring them from council meetings—as Labour is proposing—would restrict legitimate forms of protest and public expression.

Others who are not supportive of the Camden Friends of Palestine campaign’s demands have expressed concern that the council is acting undemocratically. Liberal Democrat councillor Tom Simon, leader of the opposition, told Camden New Journal:

The outright prohibition of banners in council meetings and the limitations on who can take part in deputations go too far. They are a sledgehammer to crack a nut and would undermine participation in local democracy.

Sara, a Camden Friends of Palestine spokesperson, told Skwawkbox:

We have tried to get our elected council representatives to commit to divesting from companies that are complicit in propping up the apartheid state of Israel. 

We have used all the official mechanisms – petitions, delegations, lobbying our councillors. Hundreds of local residents have joined our protests and over 4,000 people have signed our petition.  

But all of this has been ignored, and the council has done nothing to address our concerns. To add insult to injury, the councillors have now amended the council’s constitution to restrict local democracy. 

These undemocratic and authoritarian measures by Camden Council are designed to shield them from criticism and evade accountability to their residents.

That’s why, yesterday, we had no choice but to take our protest into the public gallery of the Council chamber. Faced with our intervention, the councillors were forced to leave the chamber and instead passed their resolution behind closed doors.

This is not the end. Our solidarity with the people of Palestine is limitless and we will continue to demand divestment from the Israeli war machine.

Camden’s move is a reflection of Keir Starmer’s aversion to scrutiny and democracy and of his collusion in Israel’s genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Palestinians.

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