On Wednesday 26 June, Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) published the first set of responses from political candidates to its “Vote Palestine 2024” initiative for the UK general election. So far, the results have thrown up some interesting results – including, apparently, Nigel Farage being afraid of being “branded an antisemite” if he condemns Israel.
PSC: ‘Vote Palestine’ on 4 July
PSC drafted six questions for all parliamentary candidates that constituents can send electronically to their local prospective candidates, as a set of concrete actions to commit to if elected.
They cover an immediate ceasefire, restoration of funding to UNRWA, an arms embargo, support for the ICJ and ICC to uphold international humanitarian law, suspending trade agreements with Israel, and protecting the right to protest, boycott, and divest from companies that are complicit in violations of international law.
Thousands of people have written to their local candidates to demand responses to these points and hundreds of them have responded. Their answers are published on the PSC website and are searchable by postcode. You can search here.
Farage: well, well, well…
Some of the responses were interesting. For example, in one constituency in South London – Penge and Beckenham – there were only the four main parties plus Reform standing. Of these, its candidate and the Green Party’s one were the only ones to respond.
The Reform candidate Edward Apostolides said:
I will do everything within my power, if I am elected as a MP, to bring Israel to account. I will table emergency debates and champion private member bills to that end. I know I enjoy the full support of our party leader, Nigel Farage, who privately deplores the actions of the current Israeli government, but dare not publicly denounce it for fear of being branded an antisemite.
Meanwhile, the Green Party candidate Ruth Fabricant said:
If elected I would call for an immediate ceasefire and instead a durable political solution that ensures security and equal rights for Israelis and Palestinians… Investigation of war crimes and an end to all UK arms exports to and military cooperation with Israel, which make the British government complicit in these war crimes.
Politicians cannot ignore Palestine
This General Election has been called at a moment when Palestinians are confronting the darkest moment in their struggle for liberation.
Over 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israel, including approximately 16,000 children, in what the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has accepted as a plausible case of genocide.
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister alongside Hamas leaders, for crimes against humanity, with the charges against Israeli leaders including using starvation as a weapon of war.
This current genocide is built on the foundations of decades of violations of Palestinian rights by Israel in which successive British governments have been complicit. These realities have made the issue of justice for Palestinians a core electoral issue for constituents across Britain.
Ben Jamal, PSC director, said:
In this election we won’t let politicians carry on as if Palestinian lives don’t matter. Our support for Palestinian rights is based on a progressive set of values that we want to help shape voters’ choices in the polling booth. We need to see politicians elected who embrace those values and will stand up for them in Parliament.
By sending our demands to candidates and making clear to them that their responses will affect how people vote, we are taking the issue of justice for the Palestinian people right to the heart of this general election.
Featured image via the Canary
