Pro-Gaza activists have dramatically issued a list of 18 demands to Sir Keir Starmer and threatened to withhold their support at the next general election if he does not fulfil them. 

The Muslim Vote has called for the Labour leader to promise to cut military ties with Israel, allow followers of Islam to pray in school and stop people with the name ‘Muhammad’ being charged more for insurance should he become prime minister.

It has also demanded a law that criminalises spiritual and religious leaders from instructing their congregation how to vote is scrapped and wants seven per cent of public sector pensions to be invested into ‘ethical and Islamic funds’.

The group, which has vowed to ‘punish’ MPs who it sees as not being supportive of Palestine by mobilising the four million Muslim voters in the UK, said it would only consider backing the Labour leader if Sir Keir caved in to their demands.

The activists claim to have more than 25 organisations backing them, although it was revealed earlier this year that at least two of them were being investigated over extremism concerns. One of its supporters Muhammad Jalal, who has appeared on the campaign’s social media pages, was previously head of the now-banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir.

Sir Keir said he was ‘determined’ to win back voters who deserted Labour at the local elections over his party’s stance on Gaza, after dozens of pro-Palestine campaigners were elected as councillors in place of Labour candidates.

Many of those elected made the conflict in the Middle East part of their campaign, with some wearing rosettes in the colours of the Palestinian flag while others dedicated their victories to the people of Gaza, including one Green councillor who shouted ‘Allahu Akbar!’ after winning.

It has raised fears in some quarters that it is a sign of things to come, with regional votes being determined based on overseas conflicts and foreign policy, rather than local issues.

When Sir Keir was questioned on Saturday about losing votes over his position on Gaza – with some estimates suggesting in Birmingham his party shed nearly 30,000 on the issue – he said wanted to ‘win back their trust and confidence’. 

This sparked the Muslim Vote to issue a list of demands on X, formerly known as Twitter, which it said he needed to fulfil if he was ‘serious’ he wanted to win back their votes.

These included the Labour leader apologising for his what they saw as his ‘greenlighting’ of Israeli action in Gaza following the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7, the recognition of a Palestinian state and cutting all military ties with Israel.

Away from the conflict in Gaza the group has also demanded the changes in Britain.

These include issuing guidance that Muslims are allowed to pray in school and scrapping a 19th-century law that ban priests and imams from telling their congregation how to vote.

It also includes financial demands that seven per cent of public sector and local government pensions are to be invested in ‘ethical and Islamic funds’. 

Others include calls to make sure that ‘insurance quotes don’t cost more for someone called ‘Muhammad” and to scrape the definition of extremism put forward by Michael Gove this year.

The group said it wanted ‘real action and real policies’ before also demanding he ‘return the Zionist money’ – money given to the party or MPs by pro-Israel groups or individuals – bragging that if they did ‘we’ll give you alternative funding’.

On its website The Muslim Vote claims that it will help communities organise political campaigns and brags that it has a ‘bank of thousands of volunteers’ at the ready.

During last week’s local elections the lobbying group called on supports to ‘make our collective voices heard at the polling station’ by voting for ‘Pro Ceasefire’ candidates.

Among the group’s list of targets is Wes Streeting, the Shadow Health Secretary, who is seen as a future Labour party leader.

The Muslim Vote has endorsed  independent candidate and pro-Palestinian activist, Leanne Mohamad, is standing against him in his Ilford North constituency which has a 27 per cent Muslim electorate and sees Streeting hold a slim majority of 5,218 from 2019.

While a date for the general election has not yet been set, it will take place before the end of January, and campaign literature,  including a poster showing a box on a ballot paper, sloganed with the phrase ‘Vote for genocide, vote Labour – seen taped to a bus stop opposite a Jewish bakery – has already been seen in the area.

Earlier this year the group warned: ‘Labour are worried about their damned polling numbers… We are watching the casualty numbers. We will not support those who have failed to back a ceasefire. Muslims agree that the current political class does not represent us.’ 

On its website, the activists state: ‘This election signals a shift for Muslims – no more political apathy. We will no longer tolerate being taken for granted. We are a powerful, united force of 4million acting in unison.

‘We are focused on seats where the Muslim vote can influence the outcome. We are here for the long term. In 2024, we will lay the foundations for our community’s political future.’

It added: ‘We are not just a movement of talk. We mean business.’

One of the group’s supporters is pro-Palestinian activist Muhammad Jalal, who styles himself as a ‘writer, political scientist and educator’.

His real name is Jalaluddin Patel and he was the UK leader of the now-banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir between 2000 and 2005, with the government banning the organisation earlier this year. Jalal has denied supporting terrorism and says he has had nothing to do with Hizb ut-Tahrir since 2008.

Jalal has appeared on The Muslim Vote’s social media channels, although he insists he is ‘neither affiliated with the Muslim Vote campaign nor an organiser.’

He previously tweeted: ‘In the 2024 Election, we will focus on those MPs in 55 Muslim-populated constituencies that voted against the Gaza ceasefire. We have to show that the Muslim vote should never be ignored again.’

The Muslim Vote claims to be backed by 25 organisations including the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), both of which were reported to be under investigation earlier this year over extremism concerns.

These two organisations were among a string which Michael Gove revealed last month could be checked against the Government’s new definition of extremism.

The Communities Secretary told MPs on March 14 that he had concerns about the ‘Islamist orientation’ of three Muslim-led organisations – MAB, Mend and Cage.

Mr Gove also raised fears about Mend, which encourages Muslims to participate in voluntary groups, and said it would be assessed against the new definition.

Both organisations condemned the move, with MAB warning it ‘sets a dangerous precedent undermining democracy, religious freedoms and free speech’.

Other groups the campaign claims to have the backing of include the Palestinian Forum in Britain, Muslim Census and the Muslim Councils of Scotland and Wales.

In 2019, analysis by the Muslim Council of Britain revealed that 31 marginal seats could be decided by Muslim votes, which would be enough to swing a close election.  

Last night senior Tories said they feared the elections will mean town halls end up being dominated by debates over foreign affairs rather than local services.

Ex-Cabinet minister Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Mail: ‘People are entitled to their views but foreign affairs is a matter for the House of Commons, not local councils.

‘This is a consequence of the Left’s attempt to segment society and create a coalition of minorities rather than a unified whole. This is very divisive for the country at large.’

Former Home Office minister Sir John Hayes added: ‘I find it disturbing when you have people standing for election not because they care about making a contribution to building a better Britain, but because they are more interested in events overseas.

‘It’s important that people can express their views on foreign affairs, but that should not be the basis for standing to govern a local authority.’

Tory candidate and former No 10 chief of staff Nick Timothy said: ‘Of course it alarms people that politicians scream ‘Allahu Akbar’ about a foreign war in a British local election held to decide who collects the bins.

‘As ever, the usual liberal suspects prefer to turn a blind eye, or even defend it.’

The war has loomed large over Westminster since Hamas‘s terror attack of October 7 triggered deadly reprisals by Israel.

Sir Keir suffered the biggest rebellion of his leadership in November when ten frontbenchers resigned or quit over his refusal to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

But Thursday’s local elections were the first time that large numbers of pro-Palestine campaigners have stood for election, mostly in areas of the North West with large Muslim populations

It will lead to concerns about growing sectarianism in British politics. In Oldham, independent candidates won eight of the 21 seats available, with several of them explicitly campaigning in support of Palestine.

In Pendle, Lancashire, pro-Palestinian independents won five of the 12 seats up for grabs.

There was a similar surge in Bradford, where nine of the 30 seats went to independents. Seven of the candidates either criticised Labour directly for its Gaza stance, or made pro-Palestinian statements.

Mothin Ali, a Green Party candidate in Leeds, said he would ‘raise the voice of Palestine – Allahu Akbar!’ during his victory speech, although Palestine did not feature on his party profile page.

Tory peer Lord Jackson of Peterborough said the Greens ‘will rue the day it admitted these deranged zealots into their party for cheap opportunistic short-term reasons’.

In the West Midlands mayoral election, pro-Palestine independent Akhmed Yakoob came third with 69,621 votes.

Before the count there had been an anonymous briefing to the BBC – condemned by Labour HQ – that the party would lose the contest as a result of the ‘Middle East not West Midlands’, and that Hamas were ‘real villains’.

Sir Keir told Sky News: ‘I say directly to those who may have voted Labour in the past, but felt on this occasion they couldn’t, that across the West Midlands we are a proud and diverse community. I have heard you. I have listened.

‘And I am determined to meet your concerns and to gain your respect and trust again in the future.’ 

Meanwhile, pro-Palestine protests have sprung up at universities in Oxford and Cambridge after students set up encampments in solidarity with Gaza.

The pro-Palestine supporters at Oxford pitched up their tents this morning outside the Pitt Rivers Museum, which they claim holds ‘a disturbing hoard of artefacts stolen from colonised peoples across the world’.

Similarly in coordination with organisers at Cambridge, students have set up a base on the lawn of King’s College because the university ‘supports Israel’s genocide of Palestinians in Gaza’.

Both groups are saying they ‘will not rest until their demands are met’, with study tents, toilet facilities, and food making areas already in place.

It mirrors weeks of protests at American universities, where dozens of students have been arrested over the campus demonstrations.

At Oxford protest leaders, who have named their camp a ‘Liberated Zone’ have pinned up a board with a list of six demands to university chiefs, including to ‘boycott Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation’, to ‘disclose all finances’, ‘stop banking with Barclays’, help rebuild Gaza’s education system and ‘divest from Israeli genocide, apartheid and occupation’.

Alongside this they have argued that ‘Oxford men orchestrate occupation’, naming Alfred Milner and Cecil Rhodes as evidence, and that ‘Oxford men facilitate genocide’.

Oxford and Cambridge University have been approached for comment.

This followers other Russell Group universities including Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Sheffield and Newcastle have pitched tents and erected anti-Israel signs as they call for an end to military action in the Gaza strip.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said police will ‘have our full support’ to tackle potential disorder if students attempt to replicate the violent demonstrations recently seen at US university campuses.

Last night Jewish community leaders urged universities to shut down encampments over fears Jewish students may be ‘harassed and excluded’.

The spokesman for No 10 said: ‘We have always been clear that Jewish students must feel safe on campuses and whilst our universities rightfully pride themselves on their openness and tolerance and diversity it is obviously absolutely clear that any antisemitism shouldn’t be tolerated.

‘We’ve always been clear that people have a right to peaceful and lawful protest but clearly people shouldn’t abuse that right to intimidate others, cause unnecessary disruption.

‘Obviously the police already have extensive public order powers to tackle disorder at protests and will continue to have our full support in doing so if needed.’

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On the facts and the evidence I would contend there is no place in Britain for any aspect of islamism in Britain and those wishing to support such barbarism should go to or return to countries that wish to conduct themselves in such a vile manner.

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