Twenty UK charities including War on Want and Christian Aid have made a joint statement to the government about what they expect to be done concerning the Gaza crisis. The surprise is that it is weak on detail. They could have done better and come up with more specific detailed recommendations on which the government could act. One recommendation does stand out, that of restoring UK funding to UNRWA. We too made that recommendation, as did others. And the new government has acted upon it.
The change of government always brings expectations of change in domestic and international policies. In the United Kingdom, the Labour Party won a near-historic election victory with 411 seats against the Conservatives’ 121 seats, giving an incumbent government its worst results in history. The Liberal Democrats took 32 seats.
Christian Aid, War on Want and the Quakers among Twenty Charities to Make a Public Statement: How Effective is it?
On the 11th of July, twenty charities based in the United Kingdom unveiled their statement which calls for an active ‘reset’ in the British Government’s policy towards Gaza and the West Bank. The multi-organisation statement, which was most notably signed by the international non-profit organisation Plan International and the British Chapter of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), talks of the ‘unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe’ in Gaza that’s the byproduct of blockade and extensive military operations since 2006.
The statement then points to the impact of these actions not only in Gaza, but also in the West Bank where over 500 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory measures since the October 7 attacks, and that increased ‘discriminatory movement restrictions, arbitrary detention and settler violence against Palestinians’ have worsened in the region. Afterwards, it points to the previous warnings back in December 2023 by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights about the ‘heightened risk of atrocities’ in the region, as well as the recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) declaration. It raises the risk the United Kingdom carries of further exasperating the situation by maintaining its arms sales to Israel. In the closing paragraphs of the statement, the organisations have called for the incoming Starmer government to aim for a ‘fundamental reset of policies’, that departs from those pursued by previous Tory Ministers. It urges the new government to show strong leadership, act in accordance with international law, and emphasise the protection of humanitarian aid and civilian lives.
The joint statement made by the twenty organisations, while valiant in principle, has its limitations. The initial proposal calls for ‘a fundamental reset of policies pursued by the former government’, but is vague in wording as to what and how actions could be taken and in pragmatic terms.
The Next Century Foundation, with our shared commitment to a Two-State Solution, has put together its recommendations which can be found here.
In addition, please check here for the Next Century Foundation’s oral intervention to the United Nations Human Rights Council 56th session regarding the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Not such an easy victory?
The recent landslide election victory for the Labour Party was not all plain sailing. The analysis of results, if anything, suggests that while they may have come close to a supermajority in the election similar to Tony Blair’s landslide victory, they have also shown a consistent decline in vote share that suggests a looming challenge for the Starmer government to address. One of the more recognisable trends occurred with the successful election of four pro-Palestine candidates (five if you count former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) beating Labour candidates. More is to be seen on what trajectory the Starmer ministry would take with its policies, as they will attempt to maintain a separate course against the Conservatives.
King’s Speech: Few Foreign Policy Changes, but Positive Progresses Made
On the 17th of July, the 59th Parliament of the United Kingdom was opened at the Palace of Westminster, the seat of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons, in London. The state opening session, which constitutes the start of the new parliamentary year, involved the first King’s Speech under the Labour government since 2009.
The 2024 King’s Speech and its memorandum, whose text would be written by the government and would be read out by the monarch, would involve 40 legislative bills, including two that were carried over from the previous session. The speech, also the second annual speech made to the Parliament by Charles III, was noticeable for the number of bills announced with 40 (the most since 2005), and the length of speech with 1,421 words (longest since 1999), suggesting the lengthy changes that have been proposed by the current government.
It is worth noting, however, that the King’s Speech, while heavy on the list of changes proposed, remains predominantly focused around domestic policies with key proposals including the nationalisation of railways, continued devolution of constituent nations, policing and border reforms, and sustainable energy. The Starmer government’s focus on establishing itself with its foreign policies, in the meanwhile, remains bringing Britain and the European Union closer to each other with a peculiar emphasis paid towards improving trade relationship and establishing a new security pact.
Outside of that, however, it is to be seen if there will be major signs of departure in policy from the Conservatives. Both on the speech and in practice, perhaps best displayed with Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy’s presence at the NATO Summit in Washington DC, Labour remains firm on their commitment to NATO and in turn Ukraine, one area of foreign policy where both parties (and the Liberal Democrats) share similarities. There is also a relative lack of mention of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with a brief, two-line mention towards a ‘two state solution with a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state’, suggests eerie similarities to the 2010 King’s Speech, from the very last time a governmental change has happened before the July election. The similarities, when combined with the Labour stance over the course of the past year, suggest a tint of pessimism at a glance.
There are promising signs of progress to be found in the early weeks of the Labour government, however, as Starmer tries to differentiate himself from its predecessors. The latest development on the matter involves the restoration of the United Kingdom’s UNRWA funding that has been frozen since January. On the 12th of July, Barbara Woodward, UK’s permanent representative to the United Nations, recognised the UNRWA’s importance in providing a humanitarian response in Gaza and opened up the possibility of resuming UK’s allocated funding to the UNRWA in the coming weeks. This has since been followed by the official announcement from Foreign Secretary David Lammy on the decision to resume its £21 million allocation of funding on the 19th of July, signalling a departure from the previous government’s alignment with the United States and closer to that of the European Union.
Now, whether this policy change is under the obligation felt to address Britain’s responsibility behind the historical roots of the crisis, or for politically pragmatic reasons involving the de-escalation of its risks involving its voter base, is debatable. The Labour Government has so far been more patient with other points of contention involving the region, with Foreign Secretary Lammy rejecting calls for a full ban on weapons sales to Israel. That said, however, the Starmer government’s willingness to depart from the conventional alignment with the United States or their Tory predecessors suggests room for improvement, one in which, the United Kingdom could take a more proactive role in the Middle East peace process. We shall see if this will become fruitful in the coming weeks.
