New poll reveals just how many voters Labour has lost over Gaza

A new poll has revealed how many voters Labour has lost over its position on Gaza.

Over half of voters (53 per cent) who have stopped voting Labour to back other centrist or left wing parties cite the government’s response to Gaza as a factor in their decision. One-in-five (21 per cent) said it factored a great deal in their decision to switch and nearly a third (31 per cent) said it factored in to some extent.

These former Labour voters have switched to the Green Party, Plaid Cymru, SNP, Liberal Democrats and Independent candidates. Green voters were most likely to say Gaza was a factor, with over two thirds (67 per cent) saying it was a factor.

The polling also shows that progressive voters who switched from Labour overwhelmingly think that the government should take stronger action against Israel, such as imposing sanctions. Eight in ten (82 per cent) support the UK government taking this approach, including 64 per cent who strongly support it and 17 per cent who somewhat support it, compared to just 5 per cent who are opposed.

Four-in-five (80 per cent) switchers support a ban on all arms sales to Israel, and three quarters (75 per cent) support a ban on UK trade linked with Israel’s illegal occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of those who have abandoned Labour for centrist and left wing parties since Keir Starmer became leader in 2020 and 85 per cent of those who cited Gaza as a reason for their decision said that their opinion of the Labour Party would improve if the next leader were to adopt a stronger policy relating to Israel’s assault on Gaza, such as imposing sanctions or further restrictions on arms sales.

The poll was commissioned by Palestine Solidarity Campaign and Friends of the Earth, and conducted by Opinium.

Peter Leary, Deputy Director at the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said: “The public is rightly horrified by the government’s ongoing support for Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinian people.

“This poll confirms that Palestine was on the ballot for millions of progressive voters during last month’s elections. Parties that supported the call for meaningful action – including a full arms embargo and wide-ranging sanctions against Israel – were heavily rewarded.

“If any new Labour leader hopes to win back these lost voters, they must urgently break with Keir Starmer’s shameful complicity in Israel’s genocide and other grave violations of international law.”

Finnian Murtagh, international campaigner at Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, added: “The occupation of Palestine, including the genocide in Gaza, is one of the foremost issues of humanitarian crisis and environmental injustice in the world today.

“It’s no surprise that people in the UK want to see an end to the occupation and the brutal suppression of Palestinian lives and livelihoods. Voters want political parties – and a government – willing to stand up for Palestinians, protect lives and end decades of devastating environmental abuses.

“This polling sets a clear path for how Labour can uphold international law and it must start with issuing a full arms embargo on Israel.”

This polling comes at a time when evidence is mounting that Labour is losing more votes to parties of the left and centre rather than to the right. According to a recent poll conducted by YouGov, 80 per cent of the voters who switched from Labour between the 2024 general election and the May 2026 local elections voted for left or centrist parties rather than right wing parties.

Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward