Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch says her party is the Jewish state’s “last line of defence” in British politics. Her record matches the rhetoric. Badenoch has supported a moratorium on pro-Palestine marches, backed Israel’s decision to bar two Labour MPs and condemned the UK’s recognition of Palestine as “disastrous”.

Backing Israel is not inherent to Conservative ideology. Last year, thirteen Tory parliamentarians signed an open letter calling for immediate recognition of Palestine

Backing Israel is not inherent to Conservative ideology. Last year, thirteen Tory parliamentarians signed an open letter calling for immediate recognition of Palestine

While Labour’s handling of the Gaza war fuelled internal divisions and a collapse in support, Badenoch has been able to rely on a comparatively pro-Israel electoral base. A 2025 survey found that only a fifth of Conservative voters defined themselves as “anti-Israel”, compared with 44 per cent from Labour and 60 per cent of Greens. Out of 1,498 councillors who signed a pledge this year for Palestine, just six were Tories.

The alliance has deep roots. Established in 1974, the Conservative Friends of Israel attracted 80 per cent of Tory MPs by 2012. Conservative Friends of Palestine was not founded until 2023 and only six per cent of its parliamentarians joined in the opening months. With the left traditionally adopting the cause, one Al-Jazeera piece posited that “Tories can never be true friends of Palestine”.

But backing Israel is not inherent to Conservative ideology. Last year, thirteen Tory parliamentarians signed an open letter calling for immediate recognition of Palestine. Every Conservative Palestine supporter I spoke to traces their views back to visiting the occupied territories. Kit Malthouse found it “a real shock.” Four decades ago, ex-Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan travelled to the West Bank. “I could see that settlers were, with impunity, bashing up Palestinians, stealing their land and knocking down their houses”, he recalls. “It was against international law. I just felt morally indignant that no-one was making a stand.”

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