“We congratulate @Keir_Starmer and @UKLabour on an historic election victory. We look forward to working with Keir and his new government…to advance our common visions and values.”
The full statement by our President Phil Rosenberg on the General Election result:
“We congratulate Keir Starmer and the Labour Party on an historic election victory.
“Nobody in the Jewish community will forget the state the Labour Party was in when Keir took it over in 2020, riddled with antisemitism and – frankly – unfit to govern.
“The fact that the incoming Prime Minister has changed the party so profoundly, transforming Labour’s fortunes from seismic defeat to landslide victory, is an enormous testament to his personal strength, determination and political courage.
“We look forward to working with Keir and his Cabinet, many of whose members will be longstanding communal allies and personal friends, to advance our common objectives and values. While there may be disagreements along the way, we will seek to resolve these through constructive engagement.
“We are delighted to welcome a number of new, proudly Jewish MPs to the House of Commons benches, including one of our Deputies, Peter Prinsley, the new Labour MP for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket.
“Meanwhile, we would like to take this opportunity to thank Rishi Sunak and friends across the Conservative Party for the many welcome things they have done for our community in government over the last 14 years, whether adopting the IHRA definition of antisemitism, funding security for our communal buildings, proscribing Hamas and Hezbollah, standing as a steadfast ally to Israel, or advancing plans for a new Holocaust Memorial and Learning Centre beside Parliament. We will not forget these kindnesses and will be working to build on them.
“Clearly, the challenges the new government faces, at home and abroad, are enormous. From the cost-of-living crisis to climate change, to rising hatred and extremism, to wars in defence of freedom and democracy in Ukraine and Israel; there is much to do to heal our broken world.
“Indeed, beneath the victory of a strong, stable and centrist government, many in our community will be concerned about the emergence of strains of divisive populism. The Jewish community tends to be allergic to the politics of the extremes. A key task of the new government, and our society, is to stand up to the forces of bigotry and strengthen the forces of cohesion. The Board of Deputies will certainly play our part in this effort.
“The day is Labour’s, and we wish Keir Starmer and his new government every success.”