Labour’s only Muslim shadow cabinet minister is lobbying Sir Keir Starmer to take a more pro-Palestinian stance as the party’s leader comes under fresh pressure from MPs to back a ceasefire.
Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, has been arguing internally for a shift in Labour’s official position on the conflict. Many MPs have approached Mahmood, the most senior Muslim in the party at Westminster, in their attempts for Starmer to change his position.
A total of 20 Labour-run councils are now backing a ceasefire, nine of which are in Andy Burnham’s region of Greater Manchester. Seven Labour councillors in Blackburn resigned yesterday, taking the total to 34.
A Labour Party source said: “Everyone in Westminster knows [Mahmood] has been asking the party to shift
