Sir Keir Starmer is under renewed pressure over Palestine this morning after 11 Labour councillors in Burnley issued a join letter of resignation.
The group council leader, Afrasiab Anwar, was among those who quit, after a decade in the Labour Party.
A statement issued on behalf of the resigning councillors said they had tried to “effect [sic] change from within” the Labour Party, however “it has become apparent that Keir Starmer and the leadership either cannot or will not heed our concerns”.
They blasted the Labour leader for refusing to call for a ceasefire in his speech at Chatham House, “which would have alleviated the sugaring of the innocent people of Gaza and Israel”.
They said: “After exhausting every available option, we have arrived at the conclusion that the current party stance on Palestine does not align with the values we hold dear.
“Consequently we have collectively decided to resign from the Labour Party with immediate effect, feeling that our place within the party is untenable given its present position.”
The group pledged to continue representing their voters as independent councillors, and the mass walkout from Labour means Sir Keir’s party no longer control the council.
The resignations are just the latest blow to Keir Starmer’s leadership since Hamas’s bloody attack on October 7.
Earlier last week, around 330 Labour councillors wrote to Sir Keir demanding a ceasefire, despite the Labour leadership making their views clear that a ceasefire would allow Hamas to rebuild and prevent Israel from defending itself.
His party is no less divided in Parliament, with one in three of Sir Keir’s own MPs demanding he change course.
Sixteen frontbenchers have also demanded Sir Keir change course, breaking collective responsibility – a move that is usually met with the sack.
Thus far Sir Keir has allowed his colleagues to undermine him without repercussions.
His position has also been undermined by Labour’s most senior non-parliamentarians, with Andy Burnham, Sadiq Khan and Anas Sarwar also challenging Sir Keir’s anti-ceasefire stance.
Polling by Savanta of 618 councillors last week discovered that a mere one in three Labour councillors are satisfied with the party’s position on the war.
Yesterday Sir Keir’s own shadow defence secretary admitted his party’s stance is causing “hurt to many”.
Speaking to the BBC, John Healey conceded: “I accept it’s caused hurt to many people, and Keir Starmer would do that as well.
“He understands why people are calling for a ceasefire and want to see an end to the fighting.”
However he argued it is not currently the right time to call for a ceasefire.
