Lib Dem deputy leader says party's Gaza position driven by 'principle'

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper has told Middle East Eye her party’s policy on Gaza has been driven by "the right thing to say” at the party’s annual conference in Bournemouth. 

The third largest party in the British parliament has made headlines in the past week over its hardening stance on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. 

In September 2024, the Liberal Democrats called for a full arms embargo on Israel, becoming the largest British party in terms of parliamentary seats to do so.

Last week party leader Ed Davey accused Israel of committing genocide for the first time after the UN’s top investigative body on Palestine and Israel ruled that Israel is guilty of genocide in Gaza, in the most authoritative pronouncement to date. 

He made the comments while justifying his decision to boycott the royal banquet for Wednesday night in honour of visiting US President Donald Trump, in protest over his support for Israel's war. 

Cooper told MEE during the party conference that "our opposition on the situation in Gaza has been driven by what we think is the right thing to say at any given point in time."

She added: "We're doing it because we're internationalists, we're humanitarians.

"And it's been our very long-standing policy for such a long time [that] we want Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, side by side, and we'll support anything that gets us to that position."

Cooper also said it has "not been driven by the votes that we can win".

Asked by MEE whether she thinks the party has attracted new voters who are disgruntled with the Labour government's continued military and political cooperation with Israel, Cooper said: "It's entirely possible that we have won over some people, but that's certainly not why we're doing it."

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The deputy leader said: "Looking at blocs of votes or blocs of voters is not a helpful thing to do. We have to do this [based on what is] a principled thing to do, and that's been driving us on that issue."

She noted that St Albans, her own constituency, has "sizeable Jewish and Muslim populations" which she described as "two communities who didn't have the words for talking to each other" after 7 October 2023.

"I spoke to the imams and the rabbis and I said to them, please can you just get together."

Cooper said that "we worked together to hold a number of interfaith events" in her local area.

The deputy leader has regularly spoken about Gaza in parliament, urging the Labour government to apply more pressure on Israel.

Elsewhere during the conference, at a fringe event, Israeli Knesset member Shelly Tal Meron claimed Israel does not target civilians and that accusations it is committing genocide make her feel “uncomfortable”.

She is a member of the opposition Yesh Atid party, the Israeli sister party to the Liberal Democrats.

Party leader Davey is expected to speak at an event held by the Liberal Democrat Friends of Palestine on Monday night.