Gaza: an open letter to Ed Davey

Dear Ed,

As the Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, I am writing to you to express my appreciation for your principled leadership in speaking out against the atrocities unfolding in Gaza. Your question to the Prime Minister in this week’s PMQs powerfully highlighted the dire humanitarian situation in the Strip, where Israeli forces are shooting at starving Palestinians as they attempt to access aid. The Early Day Motion you tabled on Tuesday, signed by every Liberal Democrat MP, sets out a clear and unified statement condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank and reaffirming our Party’s commitment to peace, accountability, and a just two-state solution. At a time when many remain silent or equivocate, your leadership has given voice to the values we share and the urgency this moment demands.

As your EDM acknowledges, the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza has reached appalling new levels. The entire population is facing famine, while the US-Israel aid distribution plan has been exposed as insufficient, unworkable, and profoundly dangerous. Israel’s renewed ground offensive has brought intensified bombing, forced mass displacement, and the continued killing of civilians and aid workers. Meanwhile, as attention remains fixed on Gaza, the Israeli Government has approved 22 new settlements in the illegally occupied West Bank – the largest such expansion in decades – with Defence Minister Katz vowing to “build a Jewish Israeli state” in the territory.

The Liberal Democrats have been a vocal and consistent voice for Palestinians in Parliament. Our MPs have continually called out Israel’s violations of International Humanitarian Law and urged the UK Government to implement decisive measures, including comprehensive sanctions, a full arms embargo, and immediate UK recognition of the Palestinian state. Given the urgent situation on the ground, it is vital the leadership builds on this momentum, working with Parliamentarians across the Party to sustain pressure on the Government and push for concrete, immediate action to end the intolerable suffering in Gaza.

The Party must now raise its voice outside the four walls of Parliament. As Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine, we are often met with surprise when speaking to members of the public, many of whom do not realise the Party has taken such a strong stance. Our media interventions on foreign affairs have tended to focus on the actions of Trump or Putin, while the atrocities committed by Netanyahu’s Government receive comparatively little attention. While we rightly focus on the suffering of the people of Ukraine and Putin’s brutality, we do not give the same weight and attention to Palestine and the Palestinians, as the death toll and immeasurable suffering of the people of Gaza continues to rise. For many ethnic communities, this implies that “western lives” are valued above those of others. We urge the leadership to take a more prominent role in amplifying our position through op-eds, interviews, and sustained public advocacy.

In addition to increasing the pressure on the Government to act, this would also ensure we remain in step with public opinion. A recent poll found that 86% of Labour voters and 67% of Conservative voters support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. The same poll revealed that 55% of the public support ending arms sales to Israel for the duration of the conflict – with only 13% opposing this – while just 12% approve of the Labour Government’s current response. At a time when public concern about Gaza is high and trust in Labour is falling, we are missing a critical opportunity to connect with voters looking for a clear moral stance. With opinion polls showing you are the most popular of the main party leaders, you have a special opportunity to champion a just and lasting peace in Palestine and Israel.

There is also a strategic imperative to speak out on Palestine. As the Government is slowly forced to respond to the unbearable reality on the ground – with talk of recognising the state of Palestine and imposing sanctions on extremist Israeli ministers – we appear to be reaching a tipping point. These are policies the Liberal Democrats have championed for years. But if we are not visible now, as they finally move into the political mainstream, we risk missing the opportunity to show leadership in an area where we have consistently taken the clearest position of any major British political party. This could have electoral implications in the coming year.

In April, my colleagues and I wrote to you to request an urgent meeting to discuss the situation in Palestine. Since then, the humanitarian and political situation has only deteriorated. Now, more than ever, is the time for decisive action. We remain eager to speak with you directly about how our party can continue to lead with clarity, consistency, and moral conviction to ensure a just and lasting resolution for the Palestinian people, who have been the principal victims of the cycles of violence in historic Palestine for over a hundred years.

Best regards,
Anne-Marie Simpson
Chair of Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine (LDFP)

* Anne-Marie Simpson is Chair of LDFP, and an active member in Didcot and Wantage constituency.

Read more by or more about or .
This entry was posted in Op-eds.
Advert

8 Comments

  • Jack Meredith 9th Jun '25 - 8:24pm

    There is a liberal opposition to Netanyahu in Israel, along with anti-war protests held jointly by Israelis and Palestinians, in Israel. We must work with them to bring about a sustained, two-state solution. Both Hamas and Netanyahu need to be held accountable. The horrific Antisemitic actions of October 7th must never be forgotten or downplayed. Conversely, Netanyahu is heading up a far-right administration that is falling out of favour with the Israeli people. More international pressure to hold them accountable.

  • Suzanne Fletcher 9th Jun '25 - 9:10pm

    count me in

  • Sonu Sayeed 9th Jun '25 - 10:11pm

    I completely agree with the central arguments articulated in this open letter. It effectively highlights a significant concern shared by many: the perceived gap between the Liberal Democrat leadership’s stated positions on Gaza and the application of substantive political pressure to enact those positions.
    While the calls for an immediate bilateral ceasefire, the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid, and a renewed commitment to a two-state solution are welcome and necessary, this letter validly questions whether rhetoric is being sufficiently translated into tangible action.
    To build upon this discussion, I would propose an additional point for consideration regarding internal party process and policy formation.
    Effective foreign policy requires not only clear public statements but also robust internal mechanisms that ensure the party’s stance is both representative and resilient. Therefore, a pertinent question for the leadership is: what formal processes are in place, or could be developed, to ensure that the perspectives and expertise of the party’s grassroots membership—particularly those from communities directly affected by the conflict—are systematically integrated into its foreign policy strategy on Israel-Palestine?
    Implementing a more structured, bottom-up approach to policy development on this issue would not only enhance the credibility of the party’s platform but would also ensure its advocacy is more nuanced, informed, and ultimately more effective.
    Sonu Sayeed
    LDFP – Kingston Upon Thames

  • It’s tragic for the people of Gaza that British democracy works the way it does, but the publication today of news that 300 Foreign Office staff have been told to resign if they don’t like the way the FCDO has responded to the Gaza crisis is clearly a deliberate, very damaging shot across David Lammy’s bows by furious FCDO senior staff. They must know, as Anne-Marie’s references to polling data suggests, that as far as the British people are concerned, only one resignation is needed – Lammy’s.
    Of course, he has only acted as his master’s voice, so if MPs have any sense they will target Keir Starmer, because we all know how self-defence operates in the political world – a bus will be identified, and Lammy will go under it – and not before time; as huge numbers of dedicated FCDO staff know, he has been a disaster as Foreign Secretary.
    Meanwhile, the vengeful regime in Israel will continue its work. Only when MPs heed the voice of the British people and force our government to impose meaningful sanctions will Israel have to stop and listen to reason. A total trade embargo by the UK would be followed by other countries, and Netanyahu’s government would fall. Israel, to the relief of many Israeli citizens, could then choose to turn away from the disastrous course Netanyahu has set.

  • As a Labour councillor, Chairman of Bromsgrove council, chair of the Labour Party in Bromsgrove, I found it impossible to stay in a party that claims principled stances and disregards the Palestinians.
    I left the Labour Party 4 weeks before the general election and stood as an independent in the general elections.
    For months I sat as an independent in the council and was invited to join the lib dems, conservatives and greens. However, it was only when I attended PMQs and saw Ed Davey press the Palestinian issue did I decide to join.
    I feel as a British Palestinian, the Lib Dems have the right policy but like the Chair has mentioned it’s not well publicized.
    We must encourage the grassroots to speak publicly about the policy and get it well known. Having knocked on 1100 doors in the county elections in a conservative heartland, yet a Labour ward, I can honestly say, people care about the horrors they are witnessing and are impressed when I explain why I left Labour and why I joined the Lib Dems.

    Thanks to the Lib Dems friends of Palestine for allowing my voice to be heard unlike Labour that went over and beyond the call of duty to silence me.

    Sam Ammar
    Councillor – Bromsgrove District Council

  • David McDowall 10th Jun '25 - 9:54am

    Very well said, Anne-Marie. The Labour government shied away from the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice regarding Israel’s illegal occupation when this was discussed in the UN General Assembly last September. It was a shameful moment from an ex-DPP. Support for and strict adherence to the requirements of the law is indispensible to ending this nightmare. The party must constantly ask itself: What does the law say? And then follow it through thick and thin. The illegalities did not start on 7 October 2023, shock as that was. They started straight after the June War 1967, but the states which could have stopped breaches of the law then, instead tolerated them, of progressive seriousness until we find outselves speaking of most outrageous violations of human rights: starvation, mass killing and major displacement of populations. High time we stepped up.

  • David Nicholl 10th Jun '25 - 12:28pm

    I agree with the sentiments in this letter, in addition a few months ago, when we at our District Council, tried to raise a motion on these themes, we essentially were ‘leaned on’ by the other parties to withdraw our motion, even though similar motions eg on Ukraine have been heard.
    It is important that the LibDem voice on the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Gaza is heard at all levels of government.

    Cllr David Nicholl
    Chair of Bromsgrove Liberal Democrats

  • David McDowall is right to draw attention (again) to international law. There is no international police force to uphold them, but the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Genocide Convention were written on a ‘never again’ principle after the targeting of civilians during the Second World War, on the assumption that breaches would be punished by the signatories, and that countries with the power to do so would intervene if necessary. Indeed it was more than an assumption, it was – and still is – a requirement.
    The creators of those documents were describing, and forbidding, the worst possible crimes against humanity, and could never have imagined that the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary of what was then called (without intentional irony) ‘Great Britain’ would stand by and watch the kind of carnage we are seeing in Gaza. We must still hope to see a rapid change in government policy, with action, not words, to bring Israel to its senses, but if we don’t, Keir Starmer and David Lammy will have to carry a heavy burden of guilt long after they have left office.

Post a Comment

Lib Dem Voice welcomes comments from everyone but we ask you to be polite, to be on topic and to be who you say you are. You can read our comments policy in full here. Please respect it and all readers of the site.

To have your photo next to your comment please signup your email address with Gravatar.

Your email is never published. Required fields are marked *

*
*
Please complete the name of this site, Liberal Democrat ...?

Advert

Recent Comments

  • John Waller
    @Andy Iran hates America, and Britain, because it ousted Mohammad Mossadegh, Prime Minister of Iran, in 1953. Iran is a proud nation. Read ‘Hitchhiking to I...
  • Nigel Jones
    @Andy Daer that Netanyahu is "trying to help the Iranians overthrow their tyrannical rulers" is worrying because who would replace the current rulers and how? ...
  • Andy Daer
    Currently, Iran hates America because America hates Iran, and America hates Iran because Iran hates America. In one of the Mullah Nasruddin fables, Nasruddin...
  • Andy Daer
    @John Waller, we don't actually know what that the last thing Netanyahu wants is. If he brings about regime change, that would be good for the Iranian people, a...
  • Simon R
    Realistically we do have a problem that people are going to University to study certain subjects in far greater numbers than demand exists for jobs that require...