On a mild Armistice Day afternoon in London, a camera swept over a massive crowd gathered in Central London, showcasing the overwhelming support for Palestinian liberation within the United Kingdom.
The gathering of over half a million people expressed a unified call to end the Israeli assault on Gaza and the decades-long occupation of Palestine.
Despite attempts by British officials to deter the protest, it turned out to be one of the largest the city has ever witnessed.
Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman labeled the protesters as “hate marchers” and “terrorists,” attempting to ban the march on Armistice Day, accusing the Metropolitan police of a pro-Palestine bias.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his cabinet have refrained from calling for a ceasefire, with Sunak expressing solidarity with the Israeli people during a visit to Tel Aviv, without addressing the plight of Gazans.
Both the Conservative and Labour parties in the UK have avoided explicitly advocating for a ceasefire, with a recent parliamentary vote introduced by the Scottish Nationalist Party for a permanent ceasefire being defeated.
Over 50 Labour members voted for a resolution urging Israel to end the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. However, Labour leader Keir Starmer has only supported temporary “humanitarian pauses” in fighting, prompting criticism for not pushing for a permanent ceasefire.
A poll by Muslim Census, encompassing 30,000 Muslim participants, revealed only 0.6 percent intending to vote for the Conservative Party and 4.8 percent supporting the Labour Party.
Compared to 2019 voting patterns, these figures are down significantly.
Another poll of 1,032 Muslims showed widespread dissatisfaction with the British government’s response to the Israeli assault and toward Starmer’s handling of the crisis.
Abdulla Moaswes, a PhD researcher at the University of Exeter, suggests that Starmer’s reluctance to call for a ceasefire may stem from his efforts to distance himself from the pro-Palestine stance associated with his predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, and the perceived influence of “Corbynist” elements within the party.
