Labour Party’s Efforts to Repair Ties with British Jews

Since assuming leadership of the Labour Party in 2020, Keir Starmer has prioritized the mending of relationships with British Jews, denouncing antisemitism as a “stain” on the party.

Resurgence of Support from British Jews

In the recent election, many British Jews who had turned away from Labour in the 2019 general election decided to give the party another chance. Labour successfully regained several North London constituencies with significant Jewish populations.

Nearly half of Jewish voters expressed intentions to support the Labour Party in the latest election, based on a survey of 2,717 Jewish adults conducted in June prior to the election.

Impact of Jewish Support on Labour

With a population of 287,000, Jews represent less than 0.5 percent of Britain’s total population. Under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, Labour’s former head, accusations of allowing antisemitism to thrive within the party left some Jewish voters feeling politically adrift.

Jewish backing for the Labour Party plummeted to just 11 percent during the 2019 general election, according to the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, a European Jewish life-focused organization.

Jonathan Boyd, the executive director of the Institute for Jewish Policy Research, noted, “It’s very clear that Jews have flocked back to what I think to many people has long been their natural political home.”

Labour’s Electoral Success in North London Constituencies

Labour’s candidate, Sarah Sackman, secured victory in the North London constituency of Finchley and Golders Green, where nearly one in five voters are Jewish, marking the highest Jewish voter concentration in Britain.

In addition, Labour candidates emerged victorious in the North London constituencies of Hendon, with 14 percent Jewish voters, and Chipping Barnet, with nearly 7 percent Jewish voters.