It is the biggest active mobilisation of the general election campaign
The front of the Palestine march in London (Picture; Guy Smallman)
We want Palestine on the election agenda, but the election doesn’t mean we are stopping agitation on the streets. That was the mood among wide sections of the march for Palestine in London on Saturday.
And many marchers say their fury at Keir Starmer means they will vote independent or Green, not Labour.
At 4pm organisers said the march was around 175,000. Although slightly smaller than last time, it’s still a very big march—and guaranteed to be the biggest active mobilisation of the election campaign. Those involved outnumber any party’s canvassing teams.
The demonstration won’t get one percent of the media attention lavished, for example, on the racist Nigel Farage. But this movement has the power to keep changing politics if it escalates during and after the 4 July vote.
It can help drive out the Tories and put pressure on Starmer. It can insist on change from whoever is in 10 Downing Street and contribute to building the much bigger socialist force we lack at the moment.
There was a large student bloc chanting loudly for Intifada and revolution. There were student banners from several different encampments.
There was a large “Queers for Palestine” bloc. The spread of the movement came through with a trade union section including banners and delegations from Unite, Unison, UCU, CWU and other unions, trades councils and groups of health workers.
Also on the march were “Gardeners for a free Palestine” and “Skaters for a free Palestine”.
Shamil, who works for Friends of Al-Alqsa, said, “We are here to pressure our government. Those in parliament don’t represent the masses—politicians are always the last to react to injustice.”
And Shamil argued that he “wants people to go into parliament to represent us on Palestine. Most people in Britain want a ceasefire.” “The key question is, ‘Do our MPs stand for Gaza? I want people in parliament to represent justice.’”
Sharmin, a council worker from London, said, “The election is a focal point for the Palestine movement. It is a test of whether politicians represent us.”
She said, “Our system is an example of a rigged system that exploits the vulnerable. Capitalism functions in the same way regardless of who’s in office. We don’t live in a real democracy—it’s a farce.
“I’m going to vote independent. That’s the only way I can authentically vote.”
James is a worker from Tunbridge Wells who has attended every national demonstration. He said, “There’s nothing to distinguish the major parties on Palestine. The majority of Muslim people are probably very disillusioned, but I doubt if this will damage Labour to any real degree.
“There are no easy options—where do you go, if Labour is the only feasible opposition?”
But he added the movement must “make our presence felt to remind the world that our eyes are on Israel”, regardless of who wins the general election.
On a Palestine Solidarity Campaign coach from Sheffield, people spoke about the election.
Shereen Kamil, a teacher and NEU union member, said, “I’ve voted Labour in the past. But the activism I’ve been involved in the last few years has meant I won’t be voting Labour again.
“The politicians want to move Palestine off the agenda, but a huge movement has been mobilised and isn’t going away.”
Davindar from Sheffield said, “It’s really good to see Corbyn is finally standing as an independent. I’ll probably vote Green for the first time.
“But I’m sure I’ll keep protesting for Palestine long after the election, I hope the movement keeps growing through the summer.”
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On the demonstration, Ibrahim said, “I’m voting for whoever backs Palestine. I will keep protesting for Palestine and I think the movement can grow through the summer.”
Marina from north London said, “Neither Labour nor the Tories deserve to be elected. We need to force some morality into parliament.”
Not many marchers were prepared to say openly that they are voting Labour. That’s not surprising given Starmer’s backing for Israel’s genocidal policies.
Protester, Laura, said, “The Tories should be kicked out of government. Doing that might mean voting for Labour.”
But she added that “Starmer is complicit in genocide, and people should remember that fact even if they do vote for Labour.
“I won’t vote for a party of genocide, so I’ll probably vote for my Green candidate because of their stance on Palestine, but I understand why people want to vote Labour.”
Eloise, who works in publishing, lives in east London in a seat that the Tories currently hold.“For me the main thing is getting the Tories out. People are heartbroken by the Labour Party, but we don’t want another four years of Tory rule,” she said.
But she wanted a lot more than the present lack of real choice.
Abid, a lawyer in London, had respect for Labour MPs such as Zarah Sultana from Coventry. But he said, “People might say Labour is the lesser of two evils. But I can’t vote Labour, I just can’t.
“What’s the point of voting for the lesser of two evils, it’s still someone who justified war crimes. I’d rather vote for independents who support basic human rights.”
Protester Caroline, from London, said, “I think there’s far too much posturing around the election. There are more important things to do than vote, like being here.
“To deal with the issues we’re facing, whether that’s in Gaza or Sudan, we need an alternative to elections.
“I watched some of the debate last night but I turned it off. It’s just politicians getting at each other.”
The Palestine movement must seek to seize the election debate. But becoming obsessed with the arguments over voting will divert from the bigger and most urgent task of growing the movement and its militancy—and driving it deeper into the working class.Sunday 9 June, Stop The War trade union conference 10.30am-4.30pm @ ITF House, 49-60 Borough Road, London, SE1 1DR
The record of a social explosion
National demonstrations for Palestine in London:
14 Oct: 150,000
21 Oct: 300,000
28 Oct: 500,000
11 Nov: 800,000 to one million
25 Nov: 300,000
9 Dec: 120,000
13 Jan: 500,000
3 Feb: 225,000
17 Feb: 250,000
9 Mar: 450,000
30 Mar: 200,000
27 Apr: 200,000
18 May: 250,000
8 June: 175,000
“This is a movement we should be proud of… which continues to shake up the system here and internationally.”
By Matt Willgress, Labour & Palestine
This week, it was revealed that Israel’s forced starvation in Gaza has killed dozens of children, in addition to all the children killed directly in their illegal war so far.
After nearly eight months of war crimes, over 36,000 Palestinians have now been killed, and 1.7 million people have been internally displaced, with many fleeing to Rafah – a city the Israeli authorities had declared “safe”. The city now hosts 1.2 million people – 600,000 of whom are children – who are now being attacked by Israel’s latest offensive on the crossing. As the army attacks one of the most densely populated areas in the world in what is being labelled by many as a plausible case of genocide, it’s time to escalate our demands for an immediate embargo on trading arms with Israel.
Alongside this, the recent revelation that Tory ministers David Cameron and Kemi Badenoch authorised British arms sales to Israel right after an airstrike killed three British charity workers in Gaza has further exposed how complicit ‘our’ Government is in Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Additionally, the Government is also refusing to rule out whether British machinery was used in the killing of the aid workers.
And in particular, we must now target this demand for an end to arms sales to Israel at the likely incoming Labour Government, as done by the Artists for Palestine letter to Keir Starmer this week, who argued that, “By suspending arms sales to Israel, particularly while its leader faces arrest warrants from the ICC, you can send a clear message that the UK will not tolerate human rights abuses and will stand up for the oppressed.”
As Ben Jamal of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign said in response to the letter, “Keir Starmer needs to make clear if he takes international law seriously. If he does, then the course of action is clear – a Labour government would end arms sales to Israel.”
All of this further underlines why it’s so important that we remain active on the streets and throughout the labour and trade union movement, speaking up for Palestine, including during and beyond the General Election Campaign – starting with this Saturday’s March for Palestine in Central London (June 8.)
As Zarah Sultana recently said – in an important Early Day Motion before Parliament dissolved –“in light of plausible breaches of the Genocide Convention, [we] call on the UK Government to demand an immediate ceasefire and suspend all arms exports to Israel.”
But the desperate situation we now face is not only that Britain is arming Israel’s assault on Gaza about which the United Nations Secretary-General, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and many others have said Israel has committed grave violations of international law, but that the Labour Opposition – which is set to win big if the polls are to be believed – has not committed to ending these arms sales, or to joining Ireland, Spain, Norway and others in recognising a Palestinian state.
On both these matters, the views of the Tory and Labour frontbenches are in opposition to the clear majority of British public opinion – meaning that our movement on the streets, workplaces, through the campus encampments and beyond can continue to help crack open the Political Establishment’s front-bench consensus on the issue.
In this context – and with further horrific Israeli aggression against Rafah seemingly being prepared despite the ‘crocodile tears’ of Biden and his international supporters– we must never forget the people of Palestine.
We have seen demonstration after demonstration nationally for Palestine on an unprecedented scale. There have been 13 national marches since October, with a total attendance of over 4 million. This is a movement we should be proud of, and which continues to shake up the system here and internationally.
Our message then is clear. Despite the Labour front bench’s shameful line – namely still not joining the growing calls to halt the trade of arms with Israel being used illegally in the war – we will keep speaking up for Palestine!
- The National March for Gaza – End the Genocide – Stop Arming Israel takes place this Saturday, June 8th, assembling in Russell Square, Central London from 12.30PM. More info here.
- You can join Labour & Palestine in calling on Keir Starmer to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza here, and You can follow Labour & Palestine on Facebook and Twitter/X.
- If you support Labour Outlook’s work amplifying the voices of left movements and struggles here and internationally, please consider becoming a supporter on Patreon.
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