UK party topping the polls vows support for Israel, apologizes for recognition of Palestinian state

British lawmaker makes solidarity visit to Israel, calling for removal of Hamas and castigating Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recognition of unilateral Palestinian statehood.

By World Israel News Staff

The new right-wing British political party positioning itself to unseat the ruling Labour Party in the next election pledged its support for Israel on Sunday, calling for the removal of Hamas from Gaza and denouncing Britain’s recognition of unilateral Palestinian statehood.

On Sunday, MP Richard Tice arrived in Israel for a solidarity visit, marking his first trip to the Jewish state.

Tice, deputy leader of the Reform UK party, met with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar (New Hope) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Jerusalem.

According to Sa’ar, Tice emphasized his criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision a week earlier to recognize unilateral Palestinian statehood.

“Good to welcome Tice Richard, Deputy Leader of Reform Party UK, on his first visit to Israel,” Sa’ar tweeted. “He expressed the position of Reform UK, opposing the British government’s recognition of a Palestinian state. I thanked him for standing by Israel.”

“I said that we’re aware of the widespread opposition in the UK to the British government’s move. We know to distinguish between the British people, among which we have many friends, and the current British government.”

Tice responded by vowing that “Israel can rely on Reform UK.” He also apologized “for the appalling betrayal by Labour.”

During his visit, Tice also met with the families of Israelis held hostage in the Gaza Strip and with survivors of the Nova musical festival massacre of October 7th, 2023.

Tice paid a visit to Hostages Square in Tel Aviv, where he declared that his party is “the reliable partner for Israel.”

“We’ve got to get rid of Hamas,” Tice told Yedioth Aharonoth. “We’ve got to remove them from Gaza so that you have the negotiating leverage to get the hostages out.”

He reiterated his criticism of Starmer’s recognition of Palestinian statehood, calling it a “terrible decision,” and a “form of cowardice,” arguing that the prime minister was pandering to a small part of his base.

Founded by former Brexit activist Nigel Farage, who once led the UK Independence Party (UKIP), Reform UK split off from UKIP in 2019.

While Reform UK came in third in the popular vote in last year’s elections with 14.3% of the votes, it received just five seats in the 650-member House of Commons, having split the vote with the Conservatives.

However, recent polls show Reform with a double-digit lead over Labour.

An Opinium survey conducted from September 24th through the 26th showed Reform leading Labour 32% to 22%, while a poll by Find Out Now gave Reform a 16-point lead, 33% to 17%.

According to an analysis by The Times, if new elections were held today, Reform would win a projected 373 seats, giving them an outright majority in Parliament, far ahead of Labour, which would plummet by 321 seats to 90.

No general elections are scheduled until 2029, but the Starmer government is under significant strain, with internal instability in the cabinet and approval ratings which are among the lowest on record for a UK government.