Inside Labour students' revolt over Gaza

New Statesman​

2 days ago

Students from University College London (UCL) attend a pro-Palestinian rally to mark Nakba Day on 15th May 2024 in London, United Kingdom. Two female UCL staff members and an alumna later shaved their heads in support of Palestinian women in Gaza forced to do so due to lack of access to water. UCL students have also set up an encampment on campus to apply pressure on UCL to end academic partnerships with and divest from Israel. (photo by Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images)
The government's pledge to conditionally recognise a Palestinian state in September (unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire) was meant to signal moral clarity. Instead, it has deepened a rift between Labour HQ and the party's young members, some of whom see the leadership as out of touch with the emotional and political urgency of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. For a number of these young members, the move was not read as a bold moral stance, but a delayed and insufficient provisional gesture in response to a crisis that demanded urgency months ago. This development was yet another pledge too little, too late – a continued pattern of incoherent and reactive policy on Gaza. The result? Youth membership has collapsed – from 100,000 to just 30,000 under Starmer's leadership. What was once a proud pillar of the party's infrastructure had now been almost entirely hollowed out.
Just days after the announcement on Palestinian statehood, some of this frustration came to a head. Warwick Labour Club – long regarded as one of the most active and engaged in the country – publicly backed the resignation of local councillor Grace Lewis, who left the Labour party in favour of Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's Your Party. In her resignation letter, Lewis accused Labour of being 'active participants in the genocide in Gaza', alongside explicit criticism of the party's welfare policy as a continuation of austerity, and a comparison between the treatment of minorities by Labour and Reform. The party's response was swift: Warwick Labour was formally disaffiliated and quickly rebranded itself as the Warwick Labour Movement. Though no other Labour clubs have followed yet, the rupture sent a warning shot.
Warwick's departure was the most dramatic break to date between the party and its youth movement – the language used by the club's chair, Ed Swann, struck a wider chord in a post on Instagram on August 1st. He described the increasing difficulty of justifying 'continued involvement in the Labour Party' to peers. Similar sentiments have been echoed across Labour's political spectrum: Young Labour's international officer, Ryan Bogle, told me of the frequency with which members have contacted him asking how they are supposed to defend the party's stance on Gaza to friends and family.
Your Party has already begun to position itself as a political refuge for young people alienated by Labour's direction under Starmer. As the new academic year approaches, the party's foothold amongst students may deepen further, especially if Labour continues to offer little that resonates with first-time voters. Polling still remains thin, but recent data by YouGov suggests that 42 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds would choose Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister over Keir Starmer – who was the preferred candidate for just 16 per cent.
Though anger over Gaza is widespread, the alienation playing out is not merely a question of young voters versus older voters. It's about a disconnect between political instincts rooted in moral urgency, and a leadership perceived as coldly transactional in the pursuit of votes. Many young activists feel that issues such as Gaza and transgender rights are non-negotiable moral causes. For these voters, Labour's position on Gaza feels not just disappointing, but indefensible.
Senior figures within the youth movement describe what they see as a profound 'naivety' from the leadership about the scale and seriousness of younger members' anger. Instead of recognising students' frustration as part of a wider humanitarian concern, party officials continue to frame the dissent as a fringe issue: an ideological hangover from Corbynism or a potential antisemitism liability (a characterisation which Labour HQ firmly denies).
The parallel with No 10's treatment of dissenting MPs is striking after the suspension of four Labour MPs earlier this summer, effectively stalling their parliamentary careers and signalling to backbenchers that public dissent comes at a professional cost.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe
Young Labour and Labour Student groups have described increased restrictions on their work and communications, speaking of the emotional toll of being 'pressured by our members to act' on Gaza, while feeling abandoned by leadership-affiliated organisations they had previously supported and 'felt welcome in'. The party, however, said it has no record of such measures, and instead pointed to its role in supporting Young Labour to hold its largest congress in a decade earlier this year in Wales (where polls show Labour currently losing next year's Senedd election), and the creation of a next generation training programme.
Behind the scenes, rumours have circulated that students have been warned against speaking out on Gaza, with the threat of reputational damage or future career jeopardy. Youth committee members describe being strongly cautioned by HQ staff that speaking out on this issue could damage their reputation and credibility. These warnings were even given to senior, well-established youth figures who have spent a long time working in an unpaid capacity for the party. In one case, a young member's non-Labour employer was contacted by a senior backbench MP, who warned the employer to be 'wary' of the student, and to 'not trust them' after they were unable to attend an organised study trip to Israel. Others have allegedly been offered secure jobs after graduation if they toe the party line (Labour strongly refutes this claim).
Senior figures within the youth movement have also indicated a fear of speaking out – even among fellow moderates – for fear of being labelled a Corbynite. They feel that for HQ, constructive criticism is no longer productive but a real and dangerous threat, whether coming from senior MPs, party grandees or a simple student. This criticism stretches far beyond the party's internal left-right divide. What unites those voicing concern – whether from the parliamentary benches or from student halls – is a shared sense that internal dissent is being met with defensiveness and discipline, rather than reflection and reform.
A growing number of politically engaged students are no longer just frustrated – they're actively stepping back, disengaging or seeking out alternatives. Lewis Warner, national vice chair of Labour Students, said 'good, hard-working activists are switching off and disengaging, and it's going to take a lot of time and effort to persuade them to come back'. Warner linked this directly to the party's handling of the crisis in Gaza, describing how Labour has 'completely underestimated' how this has 'affected young members across the party'. For Labour Gaza, is becoming not just a question of party management, but of its identity and survival.
The risks aren't just to campaigns. Labour has long been reliant on its young members as a key talent pipeline. Young people continue to dominate amongst staffers in party HQ and in parliament, and lots of current MPs and cabinet members began their political journey in university Labour societies, from Keir Starmer at Leeds to Bridget Phillipson, Ed Miliband and Rachel Reeves at Oxford. The party's longevity depends on talented young people seeing Labour as a place where their voice matters. Right now, increasing numbers no longer do.
Ahead of next year's local elections Labour cannot afford to ignore this rupture. The crisis in Gaza may have been the trigger, but the disillusionment it has uncovered runs much deeper. Unless the party finds a way to listen, respond and rebuild trust, it risks losing not just the strength of its youth movement, but a generation of voters that once believed that by backing Labour, they could change the world.
[See also: Keir Starmer would be a much happier politician in Japan]
Related