Dame Maureen Lipman has accused Sir Keir Starmer of being unable to express solidarity with Britain’s Jewish community because he fears alienating Muslim voters and haemorrhaging votes to the Green Party.
The 79-year-old actress, who has portrayed Evelyn Plummer in Coronation Street since 2018, spoke out about what she perceives as the Prime Minister’s political calculations regarding the loss of potential votes.
“Oh, poor dear Keir Starmer. I’m sure he would like to say to the Jewish community, ‘We have your back,’ but he can’t because there are so many Muslims in this country, so he’d be handing over votes to the Greens,” she stated to The Telegraph.
The veteran performer also reflected on rising antisemitism in Britain, describing last October’s Manchester synagogue terror attack as something previously “unthinkable.”
Maureen Lipman has accused Starmer of turning his back on British Jews
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Delving into how her vocal opposition to a rise in antisemitism has opened her up to ostracism, she went on: “Actors tend to be Left-wing, so I just have to accept I’ll be frozen out. Is it purely in my imagination that things are getting even frostier on a social level?”
She also reserved particular ire for the country’s national broadcaster. “The BBC is biased,” she said. “Over 36,000 Iranians protesting for freedom were massacred by the regime in January. That seems to be forgotten, but if one Palestinian child dies, then [chief international correspondent] Lyse Doucet is flown in to report on it.”
She added: “Nobody goes into the shelters underground where Jewish children are trained to lie on the floor when the sirens go off.”
Dame Maureen’s remarks echo comments made by Donald Trump earlier this week.
Keir Starmer has been accused of fearing losing Muslim voters
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The US president suggested that Sir Keir’s hesitance to endorse American-Israeli military action against Iran may be driven by electoral anxieties surrounding Muslim voters.
When asked on Tuesday whether the Prime Minister was pandering to this demographic, Mr Trump responded: “It could be.”
The British Election Study revealed that eight in 10 Muslims backed Labour at the 2019 general election.
However, this support shifted dramatically by 2024, with the party experiencing a 12 percentage point decline in constituencies where Muslims constitute at least a 10th of the population.
Maureen Lipman is a star of Coronation Street
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This electoral shift towards pro-Gaza candidates followed the Government’s backing of Israel after the 2023 conflict with Hamas began.
The designation of Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation has further accelerated this migration of support.
The Gorton and Denton by-election provided fresh evidence of Labour’s difficulties. The Greens secured victory in the Manchester constituency, where 28 per cent of residents are Muslim, after being accused of running a “sectarian” campaign urging voters to “punish” Labour over Gaza.
Labour finished third behind Reform UK, with its vote share nearly halving from the 50.8 per cent achieved in 2024. The party accused the Greens of “manipulating” Muslim voters, while Green leader Zack Polanski has repeatedly accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
Sir Keir Starmer
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Should such results be replicated nationally, 111 constituencies with substantial Muslim populations could devastate Labour’s electoral prospects.
Several senior ministers find themselves particularly exposed. Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood represents Birmingham Ladywood, where 49 per cent of constituents are Muslim. Her vote share plummeted from 83 per cent in 2019 to 40 per cent in 2024.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting faces perhaps the most precarious situation. His Ilford North seat, with a 31 per cent Muslim population, was retained by just 528 votes over independent candidate Leanne Mohamad.
The Prime Minister and seven cabinet colleagues represent constituencies where Muslims exceed 10 per cent of the population.