Lambeth Labour Councillor Martin Abrams barred from re-standing in Streatham St Leonard’s ward after Gaza ceasefire vote

A sitting Labour Councillor in Lambeth has been blocked from re-standing as a candidate in the 2026 local elections after defying the party whip on a Gaza ceasefire vote – despite finishing as Labour’s top performer in a closely contested ward.

Cllr Martin Abrams, elected in 2022 to represent Streatham’s St Leonard’s ward, revealed he was recently informed by the Labour Party that he will not be permitted to stand again.

The decision stems from his ongoing suspension from the Lambeth Labour Group after he supported a Green Party motion in January 2024 calling for “an immediate ceasefire and the end to human rights atrocities in the Israel/Palestine conflict.”

The motion pre-dated official Labour policy by a month, yet Abrams was handed a three-month suspension from the group – a sanction which has still not been lifted.

Speaking in February 2025, Cllr Abrams described his disciplinary hearing as “a show trial“.

“My hearing took two hours. It was humiliating,” he said. “The whips tried to paint a picture of me as someone who doesn’t deserve to be in the Labour Group. This was a vote of conscience for me based on my Jewish background. This wasn’t accepted as a reason for my breaking the whip.”

Twenty out of 58 Labour Councillors were absent from the January 2024 meeting in which the ceasefire motion was debated. Abrams was one of the few Labour members who attended and voted for it.

Former Labour Cabinet member, Cllr Sonia Winfred, was also suspended. She quit her role as a Councillor in Knight’s Hill, and has now joined the Green party.

The fallout from that decision could now shift the political balance in one of the borough’s most marginal wards.

In the 2022 elections, Green candidates Scott Ainslie and Nicole Griffiths comfortably won the top two seats in St Leonard’s with 1,727 (48.6%) and 1,683 (47.4%) votes respectively.

Abrams finished third with 1,525 votes (42.9%), ahead of fellow Labour candidates Deneane Rowe (38.1%) and Umar Qureshi (37.6%).

The narrow margins suggest the Greens could take all three seats in 2026 – especially without an incumbent Labour councillor on the ballot.

Abrams has not yet said whether he will stand as an Independent or under a different party banner, but his departure from the Labour slate is a notable development in an already finely poised ward.

In a statement shared with residents, Abrams criticised the decision to deselect him and raised wider concerns about Labour’s direction.

“Right now we have a Labour Council in Lambeth, a Labour Mayor of London and now a Labour Government, and after 15 years of Tory destruction there is no longer any justification, locally or nationally, to inflict further cuts or austerity on people.

There should be an overwhelming feeling of hope and belief that Labour will significantly and quickly improve people’s lives, but sadly that is not what I am hearing from local people when I speak to them. Labour needs an urgent change of direction.”

The Labour Party has not issued a public comment on Abrams’ deselection or the status of his suspension. The next Lambeth local elections are scheduled for May 2026.

Full statement released by Cllr Abrams:

“I have recently been notified by the Labour Party that I am being blocked from re-standing as Councillor candidate in the 2026 local elections in Lambeth. The reason given was because I remain suspended from Lambeth Labour Group for breaking the whip in January 2024 and voting for a motion that called for a full and immediate ceasefire in Gaza, only a month before this belatedly became official Labour policy. I do not regret using my small platform to stand up and speak out against the genocide taking place in Gaza, carried out by the Israeli regime with the support of the UK Government.

As a local Councillor I have worked tirelessly to be a strong voice for a fairer, more equal and greener community in Streatham St. Leonard’s ward and it was one of the proudest days of my life being elected as Lambeth Councillor in 2022. Since being trusted with this opportunity by the local community I have worked hard to be as accessible and responsive as possible, to listen and be empathetic to the needs of our community during a time when people are facing one of the most severe cost of living crisis and housing emergencies in living memory.

I have not always got things right and it has often been a struggle balancing the pressures of also having a young family and full time job but I have always strived to be the best possible representative for our wonderful community in Streatham. As the incumbent Councillor I stand the best chance of winning the next election in St. Leonard’s. The decision of the Labour Party to deselect me and block me from re-standing will be completely inexplicable to the local community and will undoubtedly harm Labour’s chance of holding this seat. The people responsible for this decision are pursuing their factional obsession against the interests of both the community and the Labour Party.

My stance on Palestine and what is happening in Gaza has always been a matter of conscience for me and has been long before 7th October 2023. For me and a rapidly increasing number of Jewish people ‘Never again’ means never again for everyone and we see it as our duty to speak out against this genocide and shout it loud and clear “not in our name!”

After more than 600 days of genocide this stance has been unequivocally proven to be the only morally just and humane stance. You simply cannot “both-sides” a genocide. We are truly watching one of the greatest crimes of our age live streamed to us in real time as we watch in horror as tens of thousands of Palestinian children are slaughtered and maimed by Israeli bombs and bullets. As a parent of two young children myself, every single one of those children in Gaza is a whole universe to someone. The grief, pain and suffering of the Palestinian people in Gaza is unfathomable and my heart breaks and bleeds for each and every mum and dad facing such loss.

As a non-Zionist Jewish Labour Councillor who has always stood up for Palestinian liberation there have been concerted attempts to silence me within the Council, after more than 1,100 days since being elected in 2022 I have still not been allowed to make my maiden speech in the Council chamber or even ask a Question to the Council Cabinet despite repeated attempts. I refuse to be silenced however and will continue as that Jewish voice against Israeli genocide and against the oppression of the Palestinian people, it is quite simply the very least I can do.

Right now we have a Labour Council in Lambeth, A Labour Mayor of London and now a Labour Government, and after 15 years of Tory destruction there is no longer any justification, locally or nationally, to inflict further cuts or austerity on people. There should be an overwhelming feeling of hope and belief that Labour will significantly and quickly improve people’s lives, but sadly that is not what I am hearing from local people when I speak to them. Labour needs an urgent change of direction. “Starmerism” is a failing project that has alienated core Labour Party voters potentially forever and risks gifting the keys to 10 Downing Street to Nigel Farage and Reform.

I am very proud of the work I have done as a local Councillor in our wonderful community of Streatham St. Leonard’s but my work does not stop here. There is 11 months until the elections in May 2026 and I will continue what I was elected to do and stand up for the voiceless and for those facing injustice in Streatham, Lambeth and beyond. I have always seen my political purpose is to fundamentally shift wealth and power away from the rich, powerful and those few people where it is concentrated most and that will never change. Thank you to everyone that has supported and expressed solidarity.”