Labour right caught harassing student members over Gaza

Tensions are growing between the Labour Party right and young members, as the party’s stance on Gaza creates moral confusion.

The Labour right are at it again

As first reported by Hattie Simpson in the New Statesman, Keir Starmer’s pledge to recognise a Palestinian state in September has deepened the feud between the party’s young members and Labour HQ.

This pledge is dependent on Israel not agreeing to a ceasefire, which has emphasised to young members how out of touch the Labour leadership truly are.

According to the New Statesman:

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).

Labour HQ has threatened young members with “reputational damage or future career jeopardy” for speaking out on Gaza.

On the New Statesman podcast, Hattie Simpson said:

It’s been made very, very clear to lots of students that if you talk about this [Gaza], you are stepping out of line

Then cooper says you have to trust us.
Deranged. https://t.co/solJorbKM4

— Peterfcpeu👍jcin10@23806058 (@smudge23801) August 12, 2025

Warwick Labour

Only last week, Warwick Labour – the party’s society at Warwick University – put out a statement in support of local councillor, Grace Lewis, and her decision to step away from them to join Your Party.

The party quickly disaffiliated from Warwick Labour after this. It rebranded as ‘Warwick Labour Movement’.

Meanwhile, according to the New Statesman, Your Party has:

Already begun to position itself as a political refuge for young people alienated by Labour’s direction under Starmer.

Trips to Israel

The New Statesman also reported that one backbench MP contacted a young member’s (non-Labour) employer after they couldn’t attend an organised study trip to Israel. They warned the employer to be “wary” and “not trust them”.

This is an extraordinary claim in the New Statesman.

The Labour right are the most depraved, immoral people in politics. I know that first-hand having had several similar things happen to myself.

A *Labour* MP contacted an employer telling them to not trust an employee! pic.twitter.com/npxPGbhhTV

— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) August 11, 2025

If true how utterly disgusting. this young person has a claim to sue the MP for defamation and should use the funds of their union to do so. I sincerely hope they will.
No party of the left should be contacting a young person’s employer to defame them. A clear out is badly… https://t.co/adrIPISUmU

— Labour Beyond Cities (@LabBeyondCities) August 11, 2025

Others have reportedly been offered stable jobs after graduation if they agreed to toe the party line. Obviously, Labour strongly refuted those claims.

‘Pompoms for genocide’

According to Novara Media, Young Labour’s membership has fallen from 100,000 members to a mere 30,000.

On its YouTube channel, Aaron Bastani said that young people within the party are realising that they have no real influence on political outcomes. Instead, they have become “cheerleaders”. However, when that turns into “pompoms for genocide and thousands of children being mutilated”, young people lose interest.

This is why I have zero interest in party politics. The worst of human nature comes to the surface when power is at stake. It’s oppressive. https://t.co/BIHLQ8r5Q2

— Zelex (@OBEhizele) August 11, 2025

The longer Labour continue to ignore this feud, the more young people will become disillusioned. A whole generation of potential voters or previous voters is turning its back. And the right wing only has itself to blame.

Feature image via screengrab