Starmer turned around Labour ‘basically single-handedly’ and should remain PM, says Jewish Labour chair
By Ben Bloch, political reporter
Every January, the Jewish Labour Movement gets together for its annual conference in London, and today was its second since Labour returned to government in July 2024.
This year, the movement hosted four cabinet ministers, and a host more junior ministers, as well as MPs, and newly-elected national chair Ella Rose-Jacobs told me that she has come away from today feeling “even more energised”, saying: “The Labour government is doing amazing things that we should be really, really proud of.”
She conceded that telling the story of what the government is doing is “incredibly difficult”, but said she is “really proud to be a Labour councillor and to speak to my constituents and say this is what the government is delivering for you”.
But the government has come under fire from parts of the Jewish community for some decisions it has made, including pausing trade talks with Israel, suspending some arms licences, and recognising a state of Palestine while Israeli hostages remained in Gaza.
Rose-Jacobs said it has been “a really tough couple of years for the Jewish community, and that’s off the back of more tough years for the Jewish community under the Corbyn years”.
But she continued: “I’m proud of the work that we’ve done as JLM in advocating for the hostages, including speaking to government about it.
“Antisemitism has hit us all really, really hard. It has been murderous, it has been deadly, and it is scary, and no one denies that.
“The prime minister speaks incredibly passionately and personally about combatting antisemitism. He has done a huge amount. […] I fully trust the government to carry on doing that work.
“And if they do not do enough, we will tell them that, and we will carry on advocating for the Jewish community. […] And as Labour-voting Jews, we will carry on pushing the government to carry on doing more, which I don’t need to do, because I believe they are fully committed to doing that.”
Asked about the precarious nature of Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership, with rumblings of ministers plotting a potential challenge in the coming months, Rose-Jacobs backed him to remain in post.
She said: “Keir Starmer is the leader of the Labour Party. As the leader of the Jewish Labour Movement, and as myself, I went through horrific antisemitism in the Labour Party, I’ve spoken about that publicly before.
“Keir Starmer turned around the Labour Party basically single-handedly. He came in with a mission, he delivered it. He is the prime minister, and I hope he remains the prime minister.”