Labour’s hard Left is trying to push Sir Keir Starmer into backing ‘immediate’ recognition of a Palestinian state if he wins the election.
Senior party figures and associates including union leaders are at a top secret meeting in Westminster this afternoon to sign off its manifesto for the July 4 vote.
Sir Keir and his top team are expected to face fights over a range of social and geopolitical issues including the fighting in Gaza.
The leader made his strongest commitment yet to a Palestinian state, telling reporters today that he would want it to be part of any peace deal with Israel. The move is widely seen as a bid to shore up his core support on the Left.
However, Jess Barnard, the NEC members and head of Young Labour, said she would push him to move further.
Ahead of the meeting she tweeted a clenched fist, adding: ‘Heading into clause V, ready to stand up for free school meals, scrapping the two child benefit cap and immediate recognition of a Palestinian state.’
Sir Keir and his top team are expected to face fights over a range of social and geopolitical issues including the fighting in Gaza.
Senior party figures (shadow health secretary Wes Streeting pictured) and associates including union leaders are at a top secret meeting in Westminster this afternoon to sign off its manifesto for the July 4 vote.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, was accosted by protesters from the Green New Deal Rising group as he walked to the building, who pressed the candidate for Tottenham on the party’s commitments to fighting climate change and its position on the war in Gaza.
The leader is expected to include his strongest commitment yet to a Palestinian state, with reports suggesting he will a pledge to recognise Palestine before the end of any peace process in a bid to shore up his core support on the Left.
However, Jess Barnard, the NEC members and head of Young Labour, said she would push him to move further.
The Labour leader went in through a back entrance at the central London location where the so-called Clause V meeting is taking place. Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves are also believed to be in the building.
David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, was accosted by protesters from the Green New Deal Rising group as he walked to the building, who pressed the candidate for Tottenham on the party’s commitments to fighting climate change and its position on the war in Gaza.
Sir Keir has previously said that it would only be recognised as part of a move to implement a two-state solution to the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to the BBC during a visit in Greater London, the Labour leader said: ‘That needs to be part of the process, it’s very important we have a viable Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.’
He added: ‘It is an inalienable right of the Palestinians, it’s not in the gift of Israel, so it has to be part of the peace process.’
Asked whether this will be in the manifesto, he said: ‘It will be.’
The final version of the manifesto – said to total fewer than 30 pages – will be presented to senior figures at a crucial meeting with unions today before it is launched officially next Thursday.
Sir Keir has come under fire for his caution in calling for a ceasefire following the attacks on October 7 by Hamas and Israel’s response.
Ten Shadow Cabinet ministers resigned in a bid to increase pressure on the party to go further than calling for a humanitarian pause.
Labour sources reportedly said the manifesto would be a cautious package of measures. It would be distinct from Jeremy Corbyn’s 2017 and 2019 policy-heavy manifestos.
One source said to have seen the draft manifesto said: ‘Everybody is incredibly concerned about making any financial commitments because the Conservatives can weaponise that. But if you don’t have any funding, you’re not going to have any policies.’
It was reported that Labour will also include a promise to lower the retirement age for ambulance drivers to boost recruitment and retention.
Labour officials have indicated that they could do the same for other NHS workers in a move that could further exacerbate the crisis in the health service.
The manifesto is also set to include a promise to look into the way public sector pay review bodies recommend pay settlements, but not to increase public funding for them, The Guardian said.
Further pledges include guarantees on workers’ rights, recruiting more teachers and ‘driving down’ net migration – though without a specific target, it was reported. Labour will also allow military ID to be used at polling stations but will not promise to abolish voter ID altogether.
The Labour leader is reportedly planning to include a pledge to recognise Palestine before the end of any peace process in a bid to shore up his core support on the Left
However, the manifesto will not have a commitment to ditch the two-child benefit cap despite pressure from many within the party.
Labour’s policy will infuriate Israel, whose PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, reacted angrily when Ireland, Spain and Norway all officially recognised Palestine in May. Mr Netanyahu called the move a ‘reward for terrorism’.
Sir Keir initially called for a humanitarian pause rather than a ceasefire which many of his backbenchers were calling for.
He caused fury on the Labour Left when he told an interviewer that he thought Israel had the right to cut off water and power supplies to citizens in Gaza.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy was criticised for supporting a decision by the International Criminal Court to request an arrest warrant for the Israeli leader. The move is calculated to win back Muslim support for the party.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘We don’t comment on leaks. The manifesto will be published soon.’
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