In Starmer's own borough, 33 Greens have made the Pledge for Palestine, as well as 3 from Camden People’s Alliance, but no Labour candidates.

Close image of Palestine flag against blue sky. Pledge for Palestine

1,688 council candidates have made the ‘Pledge for Palestine’ ahead of the May local elections. This includes more than 1,000 Green candidates, 200 Labour candidates, 200 independents and other local party candidates, as well as candidates from the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.

Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) launched the ‘Candidate Pledge for Palestine’ in conjunction with Vote Palestine 2026, a campaign group that aims to raise the importance of Palestine in the local elections. Alongside PSC, Vote Palestine 2026 is endorsed by the Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, the British Palestinian Committee, the Palestinian Forum in Britain, and The Muslim Vote.

If elected to council, the pledge commits candidates to “take all appropriate steps to” to (1) uphold the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, (2) stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid, and (3) ensure their council is not complicit in Israel’s violations of international law, including by divesting pension funds from complicit companies.

Almost 5,000 councillors will be elected on 7 May, with ‘all out’ elections in all London boroughs and Birmingham, and seats up for grabs across much of England: from Plymouth on the south-west coast to Tyneside in the north-east.

London

Palestine was a major issue in the 2024 General Election and could prove decisive in key councils where Labour is under threat from the Greens, who are expected to make major gains. This is particularly true in London, where ‘all out’ elections could see Labour lose control of historic strongholds. For example:

Hackney

  • Labour currently has a large majority (42/57 seats), but it is a key target for the Greens.
  • 32 Green candidates have made the ‘Pledge for Palestine’, including the Green’s candidate for mayor, Zoe Garbett, as well as 6 Hackney Independent Socialist Collective candidates, compared to just 2 Labour candidates.

Camden

  • Keir Starmer’s home borough has a large Labour majority (44/55 seats) but is expected to face a strong challenge from the Greens.
  • 33 Green candidates have made the pledge, as well as 3 Camden People’s Alliance candidates, but no Labour candidates have.

Newham

  • Labour currently holds 56 of 66 council seats, but here they face strong challenges from both the Greens and a pro-Palestine local party, the Newham Independents Party.
  • Here, the pledge has been made by 28 Green candidates, 19 Newham Independents Party candidates, and 5 Labour candidates.

Islington

  • Another Labour stronghold (currently 44/51 seats) at risk from the Greens, but here 29 Labour candidates have made the pledge, compared to 19 Greens and 6 Islington Community Independent candidates.

Across England

Outside of London, Labour also faces strong challenges in councils it has run for decades or more. For example:

Birmingham

  • Labour holds a narrow majority (52/101 seats) and with all seats up for grabs, it could lose control of a council it has held since 2012.
  • 27 Green candidates in Birmingham have made the pledge, as well as 4 independents and 1 Labour candidate.

Bradford

  • Labour again holds a wafer-thin majority (46/90 seats) and again all seats are up for election.
  • 16 Green candidates have made the pledge, 12 Your Bradford Independents Group candidates, and 6 Labour candidates.

Elsewhere, former Labour-held councils could move further from the party. For example:

Newcastle

  • Labour currently holds 34/78 seats but could be pushed out of being the largest party by the Greens and independent challenges.
  • 28 Green candidates have made the pledge, as well as 2 Newcastle Independents candidates, and 5 Labour candidates.
  • This includes former Labour Mayor North of Tyne, Jamie Driscoll, who is now standing for the Greens and has made the pledge.

Oxford

  • Labour lost control of the council when 9 of its councillors quit the party over its handling of Gaza. It now holds 21 of 48 seats, with half up for election on 7 May.
  • 24 Green candidates have made the pledge, compared to 4 from Labour.

The ‘Pledge for Palestine’

Last year PSC launched the ‘Councillor Pledge for Palestine’, asking sitting councillors to make the pledge. More than 1,300 have done so.

PSC’s research has found that local council-administered pension funds invest more than £12bn in companies complicit in Israel’s crimes, including hundreds of millions of pounds invested in arms companies like BAE Systems, which makes parts for the Israeli fighter jets that have been used to decimate Gaza. So far more than 30 councils across the UK have passed motions supporting divestment from companies complicit in Israel’s crimes.

Polling commissioned by PSC shows that more than three times as many voters support local councils divesting pension funds from companies complicit in Israel’s crimes than oppose it. That ratio is 6:1 for Labour voters, 7:1 for Liberal Democrat voters, and 11:1 for Green voters.

Peter Leary, deputy director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said:

Voters are sickened not only by Israel’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, they are also sick of British complicity with it. The Palestinian call for boycott, divestment and sanctions is an essential movement to support the fundamental rights of Palestinian people and that can be carried out at a local level, just as it helped when apartheid was brought down in South Africa.

We’re pleased that candidates from all parties have been taking the pledge, some of them despite the failures of their national party’s policies to support divestment from human rights abusing companies.

Councillors who can get their councils to stop all complicity – such as divesting pension funds that are linked to companies that are enabling Israel’s crimes – can play a crucial role and voters at these local elections will be looking carefully to see who stands on the side of freedom and justice for Palestine.

Rami Khayal, from the Birmingham Votes Palestine campaign, said:

Birmingham has long stood with Palestine. Throughout this genocide, the people have taken to the streets of our city.

We launched Birmingham Votes Palestine because we know that accountability begins locally: in pension funds, in procurement, in the choices councils make every day. Despite the will of this city, the sitting Labour council has failed in pushing West Midlands Pension Fund to divest over £450 million in complicit companies.

Labour is learning that silence has a cost; that it has lost this city. On 7 May, voters will make that cost tangible.

Featured image via the Canary

By The Canary

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