A Labour candidate in County Durham has responded to criticism about his pro-Israel views and criticised people sending abuse online.
Luke Akehurst, candidate for North Durham, said he stands in solidarity with Israel and explained his role as director of the ‘We Believe in Israel’ lobby group.
In an interview with the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Akehurst called for peace in the Israel-Gaza war and criticised the “people sitting in their mum’s basement tapping away on social media”, who message him daily.
More than £7,000 has been raised by people opposed to his selection as Labour candidate, which was announced last month when former MP Kevan Jones said he would not seek reelection.
Read more: Who is Luke Akehurst? Labour's candidate for North Durham
Mr Akehurst said: “I’m not a shrinking violet politically, I stand up for what I believe in, and a lot of that has been about pushing anti-semitism out of the Labour Party and getting it in the right place morally so it can win elections. Some people don’t like me because of that.”
The 52-year-old has defended comments saying that the UN was antisemitic and that Jews were “politically black”. Hundreds of his posts on X, formerly Twitter, have also been recently deleted.
Police were recently called to his campaign launch in Pelton earlier this month after pro-Palestine protesters picketed the event.
But he said he often has constructive conversations with pro-Palestinians and finds they share the same beliefs.
“Part of the problem is that the debate around the Middle East gets very polarised, and people assume the worst of those ‘on the other side of it’,” he said.
“I was running a pro-Israel organisation; that’s where my instincts, sympathies, and thought-through political beliefs are.
“But when I sit down with people who are pro-Palestinian I often find both believe in a two-state solution, both want the killing to stop, and both know people on both sides suffering.
“My positioning is consistent with what the Labour Party has put in its manifesto, and the organisation I ran is a pro-two-state solution organisation.”
He insists the social media comments do not reflect his experience on the doorstep in North Durham, with “maybe one in a hundred people” raising the topic.
Mr Akehurst added: “It’s so different to what the electors in North Durham are like. I take my morale from people who live in the constituency and not from people sitting in their mum’s basement tapping away on social media.
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“The conversations often end in a handshake, and if you deal professionally with an issue that is sensitive, yes emotions run high, but you also learn.”
Political criticism is part of the job, he admits, but personal abuse has increased in the weeks following his selection. “It’s not pleasant to see,” he said. “People are abusive about my skin colouring, which is related to my medical condition, so there’s nothing I can do about it.
“The abusive language does grind away, but I’ve got a very thick skin. For 10 to 15 years I’ve had people against me because they don’t like that I’ve beaten their version of politics and made it less influential. It is what it is and I battle on through.”
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