Labour will “seek to rebuild trust” with voters who abandoned the party over its response to the war in Gaza, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves insisted on Tuesday.
At last week’s local elections Labour gained 186 new councillors, won the West Midlands mayoral race in a huge blow to the Conservatives and saw Sadiq Khan re-elected for an historic third term in London.
But there was evidence that the party picked up fewer votes in areas with large Muslim populations as it continues to struggle with its stance on Israel’s war with Hamas.
Speaking in London on Tuesday, Ms Reeves said: “I recognise that there are some people who didn't vote for Labour last week, because they did have concerns, including people in the Muslim community, and I regret whenever someone decides that they can’t bring themselves to vote for the Labour Party, and we will seek to rebuild the trust of those communities in the weeks and months ahead.” Labour lost overall control of Oldham, where around a quarter of the population are Muslim, on Friday.
Independent candidates won eight council seats in the Greater Manchester borough - five had stood on a pro-Palestine, anti-Labour platform.
Manchester council's deputy leader was also ousted by George Galloway's Workers Party party in a major upset.
In 58 local council wards where more than one in five residents identify as Muslim, Labour's vote share was 21 per cent down on 2021, the last time most seats were contested, according to analysis by the BBC.
Labour made calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in February following months of wrangling over its position and a number of councillor resignations.
Its initial stance had been for a series of humanitarian pauses in the fighting.
Ms Reeves added: “Everybody who sees the scenes unfolding on our television screens including this weekend with what is happening in Rafah and people being displaced multiple times, but also people that have seen the taking of innocent hostages from a music festival from a kibbutz in Israel, can't helped but be moved.
“And that's why we have called for an immediate ceasefire to allow aid into Gaza unimpeded, but also the release of those [Israeli] hostages that are still in underground tunnels in Gaza, they must be freed as well.”
Ms Reeves also rejected suggestions that the local election results point to a hung parliament.
While Labour win 186 new council seats, the Tories lost 474. The Liberal Democrats won 104 new seats, the Greens 74 and independent candidates 93. "No votes have been cast in the next general election and we are fighting for every single vote,” Ms Reeves said.
"But the results last week, not just the percentage shares or the number of councils won or the number of mayors won - including in the Prime Minister's own backyard of York and North Yorkshire - but the places that we were winning are the places that we need to win to form the next government."
"I don't think the results last week point to a hung parliament."
