Gaza Concerns Take Gloss Off Labour’s UK Election Victory
- Pro-Palestine campaigners cost Labour victory in key seats
- Some big names saw their majorities slashed dramatically
Labour’s landslide UK election victory was tempered by some shock losses as the party hemorrhaged votes to independents who campaigned over Gaza and to the Greens in urban areas. Casualties included two members of leader Keir Starmer’s top team.
Among the high-profile defeats was Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow Cabinet Office minister and a key figure in the campaign, who unexpectedly lost his seat in Leicester South to an independent who focused on Gaza. Labour lawmakers Khalid Mahmood and Kate Hollern were also beaten by Gaza independents.