Over half of former Labour voters who intend to back other centre or leftwing parties in the next general election cite the Labour government’s handling of the ongoing genocide in Gaza as either a factor or a major factor in their decision, new polling shows.

Of 700 UK adults surveyed in the new poll from Opinium, 53% said the government’s position on Gaza influenced their decision to switch their vote from Labour, with 21% saying it influenced them a great deal and 31% saying it influenced them somewhat.

Labour’s record on Gaza was found to be particularly significant for younger voters and Green party supporters, and backing for the UK to take decisive action against Israel polled as widespread.

Commissioned by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the polling was conducted between 29 May and 2 June among people who previously voted Labour in either the 2019 or 2024 general election, and now intend to vote Green, Lib Dem, Scottish National Party (SNP), Plaid Cymru or other – or for independent candidates.

PSC told Novara Media the polling “confirms that Palestine was on the ballot for millions of progressive voters” during May’s local elections, where Labour lost 58% of the seats it was defending in England and lost almost four times as many voters to the Greens than to Reform UK.

The importance of the government’s record on Gaza in the decision to switch from Labour was found to be strongest among younger voters, with 66% of 18-34-year-olds saying it was a factor compared to 54% of 35-49s, 49% of 50-64s and 43% of those aged 65+.

Respondents who last voted Labour in 2019 were slightly more likely to say Gaza factored into their decision to abandon the party (57%), compared to 49% of those who last voted Labour in 2024.

Green party voters were also more likely to cite Labour’s position on Gaza as an influence, with two thirds (67%) saying it was a factor in switching away from Labour, more than double that of respondents who intend to vote Lib Dem (31%), and greater than SNP, Plaid Cymru or independent intenders (44%).

Voters who are switching from Labour to other ‘progressive’ parties were found to overwhelmingly agree that the UK government should take stronger action against Israel with measures such as banning arms sales and sanctioning Israeli government ministers. Eight in ten (82%) support the government taking this approach, compared to just 5% who are opposed.

Even among those who said Gaza was not a factor at all in why they won’t be voting Labour (42% of the total sample), three quarters (74%) still support the UK taking this kind of decisive action.

Three quarters of respondents (75%) also support a ban on UK trade linked with Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory, and 67% support local governments divestingpension funds from companies whose involvement with Israel is in violation of international law. The polling also found 90% support the government recognising the environmental damage caused by Israel in Gaza as part of its decision making.

Peter Leary, deputy director of PSC, said: “The public is rightly horrified by the government’s ongoing support for Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinian people.

“If any new Labour leader hopes to win back these lost voters, they must urgently break with Keir Starmer’s shameful complicity in Israel’s genocide and other grave violations of international law.”

Respondents overwhelmingly agreed (70%) that a new Labour leader having a stronger policy on Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza would improve how favourably the party is perceived. Just 6% said it would lead to a less favourable view of the party, while one in five (21%) said it would make no difference.

Among those who intend to vote Green in the next general election, 82% said stronger action on Israel would improve their view of Labour, compared to 57% among those who intend to vote Lib Dem.

Finnian Murtagh, international campaigner at Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, called it “no surprise” that people in the UK want “to see an end to the occupation and the brutal suppression of Palestinian lives and livelihoods”.

Murtagh added: “Voters want political parties – and a government – willing to stand up for Palestinians, protect lives and end decades of devastating environmental abuses. This polling sets a clear path for how Labour can uphold international law and it must start with issuing a full arms embargo on Israel.”

Candidates, including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, are currently preparing for the Makerfield byelection on 18 June. The seat was recently vacated by MP Josh Simons as a route for Burnham to challenge prime minister Keir Starmer in a leadership contest.

The Labour government’s record on Gaza is characterised by failure to uphold its obligations under international law, and, as Corbyn’s Gaza Tribunal found in March, both complicity and active participation in the ongoing genocide.

Israel has killed a conservative estimate of 72,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including more than 21,000 children, since October 2023.

From Novara Media via This RSS Feed.