In our survey of over 2,000 Black and minority ethnic people in the UK, 66% report supporting stronger calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, and more compassion for Palestinian people. Just 9% of Black and minority ethnic people oppose, with 21% reporting that they ‘neither support nor oppose’, and 4% that they ‘don’t know’, with regards to those statements.

Our nationally representative polling shows that Black and minority ethnic people across the political spectrum support these calls. Three quarters (75%) of Black and minority ethnic people who voted Labour in the 2019 General Election, and two thirds (66%) of Black and minority ethnic people who voted Conservative, support stronger calls for a ceasefire and more compassion for Palestinian people in UK politics. 

Our polling also found that the majority (54%) of Black and minority ethnic people supported the legitimacy of pro-Palestine protests:

• Over two thirds (68%) of Black and minority ethnic people who voted Labour in the 2019 General Election, and 59% of Black and minority ethnic people who intend to vote Labour in the upcoming election, support the legitimacy of pro-Palestinian protests. 
• When disaggregated further, 70% of British Bangladeshi and 71% of British Pakistani communities want more support for public displays of pro-Palestinian solidarity, with the figure rising to 72% of Black and minority ethnic Muslim people.

Our polling also shows that 57% of Black and minority ethnic people support a less restrictive approach to protest generally in the UK, and support the protection of the right to protest.

• This number rises to 64% of Black and minority ethnic people who voted Labour in the 2019 General Election. 
• 54% of Black and minority ethnic people who voted Conservative in 2019 support a less restrictive approach to protest rights in the UK.

The data shows that the views of the majority of Black and minority ethnic people stand in opposition to recent interventions made regarding pro-Palestine protests across the UK, including actions of the former Home Secretary opposing these.

These findings follow restrictions on the right to protest that were brought forward in the Public Order Act (2023), which contains enhanced suspicionless stop and search powers in relation to protest-level offences, as well as new criminal offences for protest. 

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‍Dr Shabna Begum, our Interim CEO, said:

“This polling data makes clear that UK political leaders’ position on the events continuing to unfold in Gaza, as well as the delegitimisation of the expression of grievances through protests, is woefully out of step with that of the majority of Black and minority ethnic voters. As we prepare for a forthcoming General Election, it’s imperative that people of colour’s votes are not treated as ‘safe’ for any party. Our political leaders must demonstrate that they are able to champion a healthy, pluralistic democracy that reflects a diversity of interests and concerns, in ways that do not sacrifice or sideline the voices of minoritised voters.”