Dear Editor,

PEOPLE in Harlow who are deeply distressed by the continuing starvation and slaughter in the Gaza Strip may wonder what their Member of Parliament thinks about these horrors. No-one knows. For Chris Vince MP remains as silent as a Trappist Monk, and refuses to answer emails and letters from his constituents concerning this issue.

At least 133 of Mr Vince’s Labour colleagues signed a letter to the Prime Minister, dated 25 July, which called on the government to recognise a Palestinian state. We must assume that he was opposed to this call, for he did not sign that letter.

On 29 July Keir Starmer announced that the United Kingdom would recognise a Palestinian state in September, if the State of Israel did not take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation” in the Gaza Strip, agree to a ceasefire, and commit to a long-term, sustainable peace “reviving the prospect of a Two State Solution”. 

Does Mr Vince agree with Mr Starmer’s proposal? Does he now support UK recognition of the Palestine Authority as a state? Has he, like a latter-day Vicar of Bray, found it personally beneficial to change his stance?

Two human rights organisations in the State of Israel released reports on 28 July 2025 stating that a genocide is occurring in the Gaza Strip.

“What we see is a clear, intentional attack on civilians in order to destroy a group,” said Yuli Novak, the Executive Director of B’Tselem. “I think every human being has to ask himself: what do you do in the face of genocide?”

The Executive Director of Physicians for Human Rights – Israel, Dr Guy Shalev, said that “Silence in the face of genocide is not an option”. He said that the US and European countries have a legal responsibility to take stronger action than they have done so far. “Every tool in the toolbox should be used. This is not what we think, this is what the Genocide Convention calls for.”

The UK has a military co-operation agreement with the State of Israel, trains Israeli troops in Britain, flies RAF reconnaissance flights over the Gaza Strip on behalf of the State of Israel, and allows the export of military goods to that country.

The UK is complicit in genocide in the Gaza Strip, but the MP for Harlow closes his eyes, sticks his fingers in his ears, and refuses to engage with his constituents. The silence of Chris Vince is profoundly anti-democratic. For if politicians refuse to say what they stand for, then voters cannot make an informed choice at elections. 

In my opinion, those who do not condemn genocide should never be in any position of authority.

Yours sincerely

John Wake