London, United Kingdom – As the UK prepares for a crucial general election, some Britons are undecided between party loyalty and running as an independent.
The opposition Labor Party is expected to win the election by a large margin, but many of its long-time supporters are disillusioned with its stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.
A recent poll commissioned by the Palestinian Medical Aid Association (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) found that 86% of Labour voters support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has called for only a “sustainable ceasefire” and repeatedly backed what he sees as Israel’s right to self-defence, despite tens of thousands of Palestinians being killed.
Taking matters into his own hands, former South African African National Congress (ANC) member of parliament Andrew Feinstein is a former Labour member who is standing as an independent candidate in Starmer’s London constituency of Holborn-St. Pancras.
Al Jazeera spoke to Feinstein, who is Jewish and anti-Zionist, about her decision to run.
Al Jazeera: Why did you decide to run in the upcoming election?
Andrew Feinstein: There are many reasons for this. Firstly, in my opinion, our politics are broken. I feel this at a local, national and global level. Keir Starmer is the MP for the area where I have lived for almost 23 years since I moved to the UK, yet I have never seen him in my constituency.
I have tried to discuss certain matters of my expertise with him before the votes in Congress, and if I’m lucky, I get a perfunctory “Thank you for your letter,” and that’s it. This is the main reason.
There are also problems at a local level that have a profound impact on people’s daily lives. Public housing is a big problem. The public housing stock is declining every year. Repairs for people who live in public housing, which is often overcrowded, have never been made.
And of course, my political career is in Gaza, and 76 percent of the people in this country want a ceasefire. No senior politician in our country, including my member of parliament who is the leader of the main opposition party and may become prime minister after these elections, can call for an unconditional ceasefire and an end to arms sales to Israel.
I want to give people a real choice, the choice to vote for someone who is against genocide, no matter who the perpetrators of genocide are.
Al Jazeera: What is your message to Starmer and his Labour party?
Andrew Feinstein: As Leader of the Labour Party and my local MP, I would say to Keir Starmer that while your party speaks of change, you are proposing the exact opposite – maintaining the status quo.
How do we know that we are proposing to maintain the status quo? By doing what we do in our daily work. [investigating the global arms trade]Follow the money.
He is funded by billionaires who want to ensure that there is no wealth tax and that the majority of people can continue to operate and accumulate money as if they don’t matter.
Ensuring that the NHS and other public services will continue to be further privatised.
So he’s not proposing change, he’s proposing the same thing over and over again, and the only thing that changes is the color of the tie of the man at the podium in the expensive suit.
To Keir Starmer, if you truly believe in democracy and that we need an open, transparent and accountable democracy, I want you to debate every candidate running in your constituency about what real change looks like and what it means.
Al Jazeera: The constituency you’re running in is a Labour stronghold. How have people in the community reacted to your decision to run?
Andrew Feinstein: Everyone I’ve spoken to since the announcement has been incredibly positive. People have messaged me saying how glad they are that you’re running. “Thank you for giving us a choice,” “You’ve given us hope,” “Good luck. What can we do?”
We have around 500 volunteers, all of whom will be dedicated to ensuring accountable and honest politics, whoever wins in Holborn and St Pancras.
Al Jazeera: As a pro-Palestinian activist and someone who participated in the African National Congress that followed the anti-apartheid movement under Nelson Mandela, do you see similarities between the two movements?
Andrew Feinstein: There are significant similarities, and the similarities begin with history, because apartheid South Africa and the illegal and brutal occupation of Palestine are the result of what some political theorists call settler colonialism.
Unfortunately, they are based on the terrible concept of white supremacy.
I think the only tiny bit of light that has emerged from the past eight months is how the world has responded.
Our politicians have failed miserably in their response, but ordinary people around the world have reacted in their millions, outraged by Israel’s actions and outraged by the support our government is giving to Israel. This outrage continues.
As we have seen in South Africa, it will ultimately be Palestinians. Tens of millions of people are joining BDS. [Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions] And it will isolate Israel, which will lead to Palestinian freedom.
Al Jazeera: What’s at stake in these elections?
Andrew Feinstein: I think our political future as a human race is at stake. I don’t want to overstate it, but you have to look at what’s happening in Gaza, and the reality that there is no longer any rule of international law because the UK, the US, Germany, France and a few other countries have decided that their ally, Israel, can do whatever it wants with impunity.
Everything is at stake in this election, and that’s why I’ve been prepared to quit my day job and do everything I can to run against someone who represents the political status quo, who represents the establishment, who brings no stability, no hope. He will actually bring even worse instability and shatter any hope that people might have.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
