Gaza Has Had A Massive Effect on British Politics, Jeremy Corbyn Says
Israel’s ongoing genocidal war in Gaza, which has entered its third year, is becoming one of the most powerful forces reshaping British politics, cutting across traditional party lines and igniting movements that challenge both Labour and the Conservatives.
What began as a foreign policy debate has evolved into a defining domestic issue — one that could redraw the political map ahead of the next local elections scheduled for May 2026.
For Jeremy Corbyn, a long-time campaigner for Palestinian rights, the political impact of Gaza has been both profound and unexpected.
“Gaza has had a massive effect on British politics in a way that nobody would have predicted five or ten years ago,” Corbyn told Anadolu.
“It shaped the (general) election results last year because of the failure of Labour and the Tories to effectively call for a ceasefire when they could, and they should have done,” he said.
Corbyn noted that public pressure had forced the government to recognize Palestine — something he and others had campaigned for over decades.
He pointed to the rise of a grassroots movement that, in his words, has become “a sort of political force of their own.”
“We’ve now had 30 national protests. I calculate that well over 2 million people have taken part in some form of protest about Gaza in the past two years,” he said. “On Oct. 11th, we’re holding a huge national march and demonstration in support of the people of Palestine.”
Over the past two years, Israel has killed close to 67,200 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, and wounded nearly 170,000, according to figures from Palestinian authorities confirmed by the UN and other international organizations.
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A UN independent international commission of inquiry concluded last month that Israel is committing genocide in the enclave, where its siege and blockade on all essentials has also triggered a famine that has killed more than 450 Palestinians, including over 150 children.
Corbyn said that the moral outrage over Gaza has extended beyond Britain.
“The injustice to the Palestinian people and the horrors of the genocide and the killing have actually become a catalyst for political change — not just in Britain, but in France, in Germany and Italy. General strike in Italy in support of Palestinian workers. Would that have happened five years ago? Would it have happened ten years ago?”
'Labour’s collapse could have unintended consequences'
The discontent is spreading to Scotland, where Humza Yousaf, the country’s former first minister, has been sharply critical of the government’s position.
“I think the UK government’s response has been pathetic when it comes to Gaza,” Yousaf said.
“I think the UK government has been complicit in the genocide in Gaza. They’ve supplied arms to Israel. The RAF (Royal Air Force) have done spy flights over Gaza to give intelligence to the Government of Israel. They’ve trained Israeli soldiers — the British — so they are steeped in complicity,” he said.
Yousaf warned that Labour’s collapse could have unintended consequences.
“Will that change the political makeup? Will it change the government? I’m not sure,” he said. “But I certainly know that the UK Labour Party — the support for the UK Labour Party — is collapsing entirely. And my worry is that if that collapses, Reform will come to become the next party of government, and they are, of course, driven by a man who has made statements against Muslims for many, many years.”
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Far-right Reform UK has widened its lead over Labour in the latest polls, as Starmer continues to post the lowest approval ratings of any major British political figure — despite his appeals for voters to unite behind the government to stop the far-right party, led by Nigel Farage.
He also criticized the fragmentation of emerging left-wing groups, including the new movement led by Corbyn and MP Zarah Sultana.
“It seems Your Party has collapsed before it’s even launched,” Yousaf said. “The problem with so many parties on the left is they cannot stop fighting each other, and there’s a much bigger problem to tackle that we have to come together — and that is the rise of the far right.”
'Anger with Starmer government will be much greater'
John Rees, national officer of Stop the War Coalition, a British group that campaigns against the UK’s involvement in military conflicts, argued that the coming months could mark a turning point for Britain’s left.
“I think whatever happens in the coming few weeks, I think we need to stand back and think what’s going to happen at next May’s set of elections,” Rees said.
“The anger with the Keir Starmer government will be much greater than any of the rows in your party, the anger over Palestine will be much greater than any of the arguments in the new party.”
Rees believes that the growing frustration with Labour’s stance on Gaza could give rise to a more cohesive alternative, even if the leftist movement remains fragmented for now.
“Millions of people will go to the polls. They will be very angry with the government, and they won’t want to vote for Keir Starmer,” he continued. “They will be distressed at the far-right chauvinism of Farage and indeed of the current Tory party, and they will be looking for an alternative.”
That alternative, Rees argued, could build on the success of the independent candidates who managed to secure parliamentary seats in the last general election despite limited organization.
“Even if it’s weaker than we would want it to be, even if it’s more argumentative than we would want it to be, it will be more successful at the next set of elections than it was when a relatively unorganized group of people stood in all sorts of different campaigns and still elected five independent MPs,” he said.
Source: Anadolu Agency
