Pro-Palestinian MPs become ‘sixth largest’ party after Labour’s surprise defeat

Meanwhile, Mr Khan won a seat in Birmingham’s Perry Barr by just 507 votes over Labour’s Khalid Mahmood.

After the October 7 massacre, Mr Khan posted a video on TikTok in which he said he had a “problem with the credibility” of some accounts of what happened.

At the time he was a Liberal Democrat councillor in Birmingham, and his party later released a statement saying he had been cleared of any wrongdoing, had “apologised and removed the post” in question, and had “agreed to undertake training on anti-Semitism”.

But Mr Khan later said he did not endorse the statement and had no intention of taking the anti-Semitism training. He left the party and ran as an independent candidate in the election.

“Your concerns will be heard”

In Blackburn, Labour’s Kate Hollern lost to Adnan Hussain, who said in his online statement to voters: “I promise to make your concerns heard against the injustice inflicted on the people of Gaza where our so-called representatives have failed.”

In Dewsbury and Batley, independent candidate Iqbal Mohamed, whose main agenda includes a ceasefire in Gaza, beat Labour candidate Heather Iqbal.

A video of Mr Mohamed speaking at a rally last week in Dewsbury shows him encouraging children to boycott Israel, saying: “Go home, find every brand and every product that has supported Israel and Zionism since the beginning of time and throw it away, throw it away.”

“Put the list on your refrigerator, tell your kids when you go to the store to buy candy, don’t buy this and don’t buy that. It’s the least we can do.”

He also warned the crowd that “we have been indirectly complicit for too long, by electing these Zionists, these unjust leaders.”

He urged them to “vote according to their conscience. Remember what the sister said. We have to go to our grave, we have to answer to God. And if we put that cross in the right box, then at least we can say to Allah that we did what we could.”

Tirade on “harassment and bullying”

Elsewhere, Labour MPs managed to retain their seats despite losing some votes to independent candidates who attacked them over their party’s position on Gaza.

In Birmingham Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice minister, managed to fend off a challenger from Akhmed Yakoob, who was running on a pro-Gaza platform.

In her victory speech, Ms Mahmood said the campaign had been “marred by harassment and intimidation”.

She said “masked men” disrupted a community meeting, “terrifying those present”.

She criticised those who questioned her Muslim faith because of the Labour Party’s stance on Gaza. “It is never acceptable to deny anyone their faith, to label them an infidel,” she said.

Earlier this week, a video emerged on social media in which Mr Yakoob claimed that British Muslims would “feel the wrath of Allah” if they invited Labour politicians to their homes or posed for photographs with them.