Labour manifesto includes plan to recognise Palestine

Labour's manifesto will include a plan to officially recognise a Palestinian state "as part of the peace process", The Independent can reveal.

- DAVID MADDOX

The bold new move also takes aim at Israel, saying that "neighbours should not be able to veto" the recognition of Palestine.

The eye-catching commitment is aimed at resolving deep differences within Labour, which have given rise to huge splits between its left and centre and saw Muslim voters punish the party in the local elections last month.

With thousands of Labour members involved in the weekly pro-Palestine marches, and concerns that Muslim voters are turning their backs on the party, Sir Keir Starmer has moved to try to reunify the warring factions ahead of the election. But it may be too late to convince those who have been angered by his support for Israel alongside what was seen as a purge of pro-Palestinian candidates including Faiza Shaheen, the candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green, who was replaced by a member of the Jewish Labour Movement.

The selection of candidates such as pro-Israel activist Luke Akehurst in North Durham and director of legal affairs Alex Barros-Curtis, who led the drive against antisemitism and Jeremy Corbyn in Cardiff West, has also fuelled divisions.