-Analysis-
I didn’t follow the recent U.K. elections with any particular interest.
I had indeed long since lost hope — dating all the way back to Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair’s position on the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq — that Britain, which describes itself as “Great,” would have a position independent of the United States, regardless of which party leads the government.
For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.
What reinforced my recent decision to deal with this month’s election results as a marginal event was the new leader of Labour, Keir Starmer. The former government lawyer appears as a new incarnation of Blair, particularly when it comes to blindly adopting the U.S. position. This was confirmed by his shameful statement justifying Israel’s siege of Gaza, including cutting off water and power following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7.
The LBC host asked Starmer on Oct. 11: Is the siege appropriate? Cutting off power? Cutting off water?
Starmer responded: “I think that Israel does have that right. It’s an ongoing situation. Obviously, everything should be done within international law. But I don’t want to step away from the sort of core principles that has the right to defend herself and Hamas bears responsibility for these terrorist acts.”
Later, after the scale of Israeli crimes against civilians became clear to the world, Starmer reinforced his defense of Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, when he barred Labour lawmakers from voting in favor of a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
Bush’s poodle
Back in 1997, Blair was a rising star on the international stage , after he managed to end the Conservative Party’s dominance of power for two decades under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, and her successor, John Major, who had consolidated the UK’s ties with the U.S. as inseparable allies, with a “special relationship,” regardless of any differences on specific issues.
After the 1997 elections gave Blair the largest majority in the history of the Labour Party, he built his strategy on gradually moving his party towards the center, ending the progressive domestic positions the party historically adopted.
Blair was mocked as “Bush’s poodle.”
But it was on the foreign policy front where Blair would make waves, doubling down on its subordinate position vis a vis the U.S., including notably his stand on the Palestinian Cause, and the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Joining the U.S. war in Iraq, Blair was almost alone in Europe, and was mocked as “Bush’s poodle.”
It’s notable that after he left his office in 2007, Blair turned into a businessman whose private company provides political consulting and brokers deals between countries. Its clients include conservative Arab countries, including Egypt, some Gulf states, Britain, and the United States.
He also benefited from his appointment as peace envoy to the Middle East, where he was supposed to advance negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Of course, he achieved nothing in this post, other than consolidating his ties with Middle East leaders.
Anti-Corbyn
Like Blair, the new Prime Minister chose to adopt the American recipe. His first action, after he became Labour leader following the party’s 2019 crushing defeat, was to get rid of prominent left-wing figures within the party, notably Jeremy Corbyn. He said his party expulsions were to address what he called their leniency and tolerance of the spread of anti-Semitic tendencies within Labour ranks.
Since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and Israel’s genocidal war, the official positions of Labour and Conservatives have not differed much.
While Starmer emphasizes what he calls “Israel’s right to defend itself,” on the other hand, David Cameron, Foreign Secretary in Rishi Sunak’s government, spoke vaguely last February about the possibility of recognizing an independent Palestinian state. But ultimately, the UK did not follow the lead of such European countries as Spain and Norway in granting such recognition.
Starmer’s disgraceful comment last fall, in which he justified the starvation of Gaza’s people, caused severe damage to the party’s ties with the British Arab and Muslim community. Last week, Arab and Muslim voters punished the party whose candidates were defeated in several important constituencies which historically voted for Labour.
UK’s historical role in Zionism
The broad participation of independent, pro-Palestinian voters prevented the Labour Party from winning seats that it expected to increase the size of its parliamentary majority. Perhaps they have not forgotten that Britain’s historic responsibility in the ongoing Palestinian tragedy since it wrongfully granted the Zionist movement in 1917 a state on the land of Palestine.
Starmer has made it clear that he sides with Israel
The British elections may seem like an exciting change, and some may enjoy watching the humiliating exit of the Conservative Party. But Starmer has made it clear that he sides with Israel, and will not change the UK’s official position towards the Middle East, particularly the Palestinian Cause.
Like Tony Blair, Starmer will continue to keep Britain in lockstep with the United States. In the meantime, we should permanently eliminate “Great” from its name.
