Pro-Palestinian MPs become ‘sixth largest’ party in shock Labour defeats

When I uploaded Election Snapshots this afternoon Reform had 4 MPs. After several recounts in Grays Thurrock Essex (not a million miles from where I live) they have 5 this evening. 

This from the Telegraph is about, less a party, more a grouping, but concerning. 

Pro-Palestinian MPs have become effectively the sixth largest party after five independent candidates unseated Labour rivals on Thursday.

One candidate, Shockat Adam, said “this is for the people of Gaza!” after being elected the MP for Leicester South, while holding up a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf.

Another independent, Ayoub Khan, who won in Birmingham Perry Barr, had previously quit the Liberal Democrats after appearing to question the Oct 7 massacre and refusing to go on an anti-Semitism training course.

They are among four newly elected MPs, all of whom championed the Palestinian cause throughout the election.

They will be joined in the Commons by Jeremy Corbyn, a long-term supporter of the Palestinian cause, who was re-elected as the MP for Islington North as an independent after he was expelled from the Labour party.

As a group, they outrank the Greens and Plaid Cymru, who both have four MPs. They are level with the DUP.

On Friday morning, the Muslim Vote organisation, which encourages British Muslims to vote for specific candidates it has approved, claimed victory.

The Telegraph has previously revealed that the Muslim Vote organisation is supported by two groups set to be investigated over extremism fears.

Among the list of its two dozen backers are the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend).

In Dewsbury and Batley, independent candidate Iqbal Mohamed, whose key focus areas include a ceasefire in Gaza, beat the Labour candidate Heather Iqbal.

Video footage of Mr Mohamed speaking at a rally last week in Dewsbury shows him encouraging children to boycott Israel, saying: “Go home, find every brand and every product that has been supporting Israel and Zionism from the beginning of time and throw it away, throw it away. Put the list on your fridge, tell your children, when you go to the shop to buy sweets, do not buy this and do not buy that. That is the least we can do.”

He also warned the crowd that “we have been complicit indirectly for too long, by electing these Zionists, these unjust leaders”. He urged them to “vote with your conscience. Remember what the sister said. We have to go to our grave, we have to answer to God. And if we put that cross in the right box, then at least we can say to Allah, we did what we could.”

You might remember that Batley was where the teacher at the local Grammar school was hounded from his home with his family by Islamic activists for showing one of the cartoons of Mohammed for discussion in class.  As the former constituency of Batley and Spen (sliced in half and Batley now added to Dewsbury) the MP was Kim Leadbetter, the sister of Jo Cox who was murdered in 2016. She was criticised for doing little to support the teacher. I can’t imagine Iqbal Mohammed being a tower of strength to him. More likely the opposite.