Party protest Labour faces Muslim backlash at Gaza stance

'I was a Labour party member for 31 years. The Palestine crisis was the end of the tether for me. I cannot tolerate Keir's policies any more," said Waheed Akbar, the former mayor of Luton.

- Sammy Gecsoyler, Jessica Murray and Peter Walker

Akbar said many people locally had said he made the right decision to leave Labour. "This party is no longer working for the Muslim community especially. They will not be voting for the Labour party," he said, blaming Keir Starmer's handling of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. "People perceive that he is backing the Israeli government blindly," he said.

He is not alone in this opinion in this Bedfordshire town that has the fourth highest Muslim population in England. Its two MPs, Sarah Owen and Rachel Hopkins, are facing calls locally to resign from the Labour shadow cabinet over Starmer's handling of the issue.