Poll shows British public support for immediate ceasefire and arms sales suspension

A new YouGov poll shows that most British people think there should be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and would support the UK ending its arms sales to Israel for the duration of the conflict.

The poll, commissioned by the UK-based charity Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the Council for Arab-British Understanding (CAABU), has found:

• 55 percent of people support the UK ending arms sales to Israel until the conflict is over
• 40 percent of those who voted for the Conservative Party in 2019 and 74 percent who voted for Labour favour the UK suspending the arms sales. 
• 73 percent of people support an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, including 67 percent who voted Conservative in 2019 and 86 percent who voted Labour
• 18 percent of those polled approve of the UK government’s handling of the Gaza crisis
• 12 percent approve of Labour’s response 

Rohan Talbot, MAP’s director of advocacy and campaigns, said: "The feeling among the British public reaffirms the demands of humanitarians: UK leaders must do more to end the killing in Gaza, including halting arms sales so they cannot be used in further violations of international law."

Caabu director Chris Doyle said the findings show that the government and Labour leadership “lag sluggishly behind British public opinion by failing to take the decisive actions needed to help bring the horrors we see in Gaza to a swift end, a trend also highlighted in polls across Europe”.