British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said he is “concerned” about the areas where his party was not able to secure votes — as results of the July 4 elections showed there has been a dramatic Labour collapse in the constituencies with the highest proportions of Muslims.
Speaking to reporters in Wales, the PM was asked if he accepts there is a problem between the Labour Party and British Muslims, following a drop in vote share in areas with a high Muslim population.
Starmer said: “Very many people voted Labour in that general election who’ve never voted Labour before. We now hold seats in parts of the country that have never had a Labour MP, so this is an incredibly strong mandate.
“Of course, wherever we weren’t able to secure votes, I’m concerned about that.”
He added that where his party did not secure the votes it would work to “address that”.
These were first comments of the 61-year-old PM after Labour lost five key seats to pro-Palestine candidates, came close to losing nearly 10 seats in Muslim voters’ areas and it emerged that nearly 50 pro-Gaza candidates had won the election.
Estimates show that in the 21 seats, where more than 30% of the population is Muslim, Labour’s share dropped by 29 percentage points from an average 65% in 2019 to 36% in 2024.
Turnout also fell more steeply than average (down 11.2 percentage points) in these seats, suggesting that some disaffected Muslim electors abstained while others voted for other candidates.
