THE mass movement of solidarity with the Palestinian people has already had serious ramifications for Britain’s domestic politics.

It has forced the resignation of far-right home secretary Suella Braverman and stimulated the biggest Labour parliamentary rebellion against the leadership of Keir Starmer.

But perhaps the most profound impact has been felt at the local level. Getting on for 100 Labour local authority councillors have resigned from the party in protest at Starmer’s backing for Israel and opposition to a ceasefire in Gaza.

This is unprecedented. Even at the height of the Iraq war, there was no comparable movement at the municipal level against Tony Blair.

Significant numbers of councillors have now resigned from the party in Bristol, Burnley, Blackburn, Walsall, Norwich, Oxford, Bolton and Hastings among other places. In London, there have been departures in Haringey, Kensington, Newham and Islington.

There are many Muslim councillors among the departures, but also significant numbers from other communities.

Sometimes factors other than backing for Israeli war crimes have come into play, including local authoritarianism and gerrymandering by the Starmer apparatus.

There is an element of Gaza being a last straw for some, coming on top of undemocratic and increasingly right-wing leadership in Labour, including a barely concealed indifference to Islamophobia.

Those leaving join others who have already successfully broken with Labour and won elections in working-class communities, including Liverpool and Tower Hamlets.

This is a movement of striking political potential. Increasingly these groups of newly minted independents  —  now sometimes the largest force in their councils  —  will seek to co-ordinate and amplify their efforts.

There must be a note of caution concerning this development. The great majority of Labour councillors, including those opposed to Starmer’s position on Gaza, will likely stay with their party.

It cannot be insisted that leaving Labour is the only correct thing to do. There is an obligation on all socialists to challenge the Starmer leadership on Gaza and much else besides, but many will decide that this can still best be done from within. They cannot be dismissed.

Nevertheless, more and more are making a different choice, and are reflecting the views of many of their voters. The stream could become a flood if there appears to be a viable alternative political project to sign up to.

Such an alternative would, of course, need to be about more than Gaza alone. That may be a sufficient reason for resigning from Labour, but it is unlikely to be enough to secure re-election as a councillor on its own.

Luckily, the Corbyn years in Labour produced a wealth of policies and a broad political approach, embodied in the slogan “for the many, not the few”, which could inform such an alternative.

It is at the grassroots that any political project needs to be embedded. That is why the councillors are key. They are an elected asset which other left-of-Labour pretenders, like the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition or the Workers’ Party lack.

While there is understandable interest in what Jeremy Corbyn may do personally in Islington North, where Starmer has banned him from continuing as a Labour candidate after 40 years of service, in the end, he can only offer an alternative to voters in one constituency out of 650.

The resigned councillors aggregate to a more substantial challenge nationwide. Labour recognises the threat, as evidenced by its vituperative response to the departures in Hastings last week.

“No ceasefire, no vote” has become one of the most potent slogans on the Palestine protests. It must be a call to arms, not electoral abstention. The emerging network of councillors will be central to giving it meaning.