MORE than 1,000 councillors from across all parties pledged “the mass movement for Palestine is not going away” over the weekend, as Labour heads for a crunch in May’s local elections.

Local officials from around the country joined the call on Saturday to ensure their councils are not implicated in Israel’s violations of international law and divesting pension funds from companies complicit in war crimes.

Since December 2025, when the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) launched the drive, 1,028 representatives have signed the Councillor Pledge for Palestine.

It was also supported by the national Vote Palestine 2026 coalition, which lobbies for Palestine to remain a major electoral issue and is led by the PSC, Palestinian Youth Movement Britain, The Muslim Vote, the British Palestinian Committee, and the Palestinian Forum in Britain.

Supporting the pledge, Labour MP for Leeds East Richard Burgon said Labour’s abysmal polling could be explained in part by the Prime Minister’s “refusal” to stand up for Palestine.

Mr Burgon said: “Keir Starmer’s refusal to stand up for the rights of the Palestinian people is wrong and has already badly hurt Labour at the polls.

“We saw that in the last general election and I fear we will see it again in the May local elections.

“The government needs to listen [to those in the Labour Party] rightly demanding action against Israel’s genocide and war crimes, and do so before even more damage is done and we lose more hardworking, principled councillors.”

Over 200 councillors had left Sir Keir’s party as of late 2025, with the majority resigning due to Labour’s initial refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Given the government’s “plummeting support,” the PSC warned Labour that its support of Palestine will continue to be a “test” for the party’s base of support.

PSC political organiser Dan Iley-Williamson said: “Vote Palestine will take our demands into the May elections and deliver a message to those seeking office: ‘If you want our votes, stand up for Palestine.’

“The mass movement for Palestine — which has brought millions onto Britain’s streets — is not going away.”

Of the councillors who have joined, 345 are Greens, 338 are Labour, 104 are Liberal Democrats, three are Conservatives, and hundreds more are from the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish Greens, Your Party, local parties, or serve as independents.

Green Party deputy leader Mothin Ali and Gorton & Denton by-election candidate and Trafford councillor Hannah Spencer are among those who have joined the call, as well as  Labour leader of Preston City council Matthew Brown and independent MP and Birmingham councillor Ayoub Khan.

The pledge follows earlier initiatives within councils to cut financial ties with Israel.

Since the brutal military assault on Gaza started in 2023, 31 councils have passed motions or put out statements in support of divestment of pension funds — a position which the PSC pointed out was backed by 46 per cent of voters and opposed by just 14 per cent.

Campaigners have also claimed that Local Government Pension Scheme funds administered by councils invest more than £12.2 billion in companies complicit in “Israel’s grave violations of international law,” including reportedly over £450 million in arms firm BAE Systems.

Labour faces a significant challenge in several parts of the country where left-wing opposition has organised around the issue of Palestine, with the pledge highlighting a new coalition between the Greens and the grassroots Independent Socialists, who intend to give the local Labour Party a run for its money.

Green councillor in Hackney and Mayor of London candidate Zoe Garbett said: “We’ve all seen the devastation caused by Israel’s genocide in Gaza, but none have felt it more deeply than Hackney residents I’ve spoken to who have lost family members in Palestine.

“The council took a stand against South African apartheid and now it’s time we make a similar stand for the Palestinians.”

Vote Palestine also highlighted a key challenge in Sheffield, where 24 per cent of all councillors (20 out of 84) have signed onto the pledge for Palestine, and in Oxford, where Labour previously lost control of the council in 2023 after nine Labour councillors left the party over its handling of the genocide in Gaza.

Vote Palestine has announced its support for initiatives in London, Newcastle, Birmingham, and Sheffield, among the “dozens” that have already launched.