In this episode of Kianistan Podcast, host Tafhim Kiani speaks with Kamel Hawwash, a professor of engineering at the University of Birmingham and the outgoing chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, who made the unusual leap from academia into frontline British politics. Born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents originally from Jerusalem, Hawwash’s journey from campus lecturer to independent parliamentary candidate offers a deeply personal window into the frustrations driving a new wave of independent politics in the UK.

Hawwash traces how a chance encounter with a Palestinian flag outside a Birmingham shop in the early 2000s drew him into the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, a role that eventually saw him rise to chair the organisation. He describes the moment that pushed him from activism into electoral politics: hearing Labour leader Keir Starmer state that Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza, a comment that led Hawwash, then still a Labour Party member, to resign in protest.

The conversation covers Hawwash’s decision to stand as an independent candidate in the 2024 general election against Labour’s Steve McCabe, chair of Labour Friends of Israel, in the Birmingham Selly Oak constituency, the structural disadvantages facing independent candidates in Britain’s first-past-the-post system, and his ongoing efforts to help register a new political party, provisionally named Reliance.

Hawwash also reflects candidly on the summer 2024 riots targeting Muslim communities across the UK, the demographic and economic pressures reshaping European immigration debates, and the devastating human toll of the war in Gaza, before closing with a deeply personal recollection of visiting Jerusalem’s Old City and Al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in decades.

Key Topics Discussed

From Birmingham Engineering Professor to Palestine Solidarity Chair

Hawwash traces the unlikely path that took him from a career in civil engineering into the leadership of Britain’s largest Palestine solidarity organisation.

• Hawwash was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents from Jerusalem, and was sent alone to the UK at age 15 for his education, arriving with no family or friends already there.
• He studied civil engineering at UMIST in Manchester before beginning an academic career, eventually settling at the University of Birmingham in 1989.
• A chance encounter with a Palestinian flag outside a Birmingham shop around 2003-2004 led him to the local branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, drawing him into activism during Ariel Sharon’s assault on areas handed over under the Oslo Accords.
• Hawwash became an executive committee member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in the early 2000s, later serving as vice chair before becoming chair for the past five years.
• He describes the role as both an honour and a heavy responsibility, involving not just organising marches but sustained lobbying of MPs and government officials.

The Breaking Point: Resigning from Labour Over Keir Starmer’s Gaza Comments

Hawwash explains the specific moment that pushed him from party activism toward standing for Parliament himself.

• Hawwash resigned from the Labour Party after leader Keir Starmer stated Israel had the right to cut off water, electricity and food to Palestinians in Gaza.
• He describes feeling ‘gutted, ashamed and embarrassed’ that a self-described human rights lawyer would make such a statement.
• Hawwash notes Starmer had refused to meet Palestinian community representatives while meeting Jewish community representatives regarding Israel, a distinction he found telling.
• He published a public resignation letter explaining his decision, receiving a reply he says was clearly drafted by staff rather than Starmer personally.
• Hawwash concluded that after years of marches, including one drawing over a million participants, without shifting government policy, standing for Parliament directly might offer another avenue for accountability.

Standing as an Independent Against Labour Friends of Israel’s Chair

Hawwash details his decision to contest the Birmingham Selly Oak seat and the structural obstacles independent candidates face.

• Hawwash chose to stand in Birmingham Selly Oak specifically against the sitting MP Steve McCabe, then chair of Labour Friends of Israel.
• He describes rapidly assembling a grassroots campaign after Rishi Sunak’s snap election announcement caught his group unprepared, eventually building a WhatsApp support network of around 150 volunteers led by three local campaign managers.
• Hawwash notes independent candidates lack access to voter databases used by major parties and are legally limited to spending roughly seventeen thousand pounds during the campaign.
• He highlights that Labour parachuted in a replacement candidate, a former army colonel with no prior connection to the area, after McCabe stood down before nominations closed.
• Hawwash received 2,800 votes against the winning candidate’s roughly 17,700, a result he considers respectable given his lack of prior local recognition and independent status.

Building a New Political Party: Reliance

Hawwash discusses the ongoing effort to formally register a new political party built around independent, whip-free representation.

• Hawwash and a group of colleagues, mostly of Muslim background, began working to launch a new party, provisionally named Reliance, before the snap election was called.
• He explains the party’s founding principle: no party whip, allowing members to vote according to their own judgement rather than mandated party discipline.
• Hawwash notes the party’s registration application was initially rejected and required constitutional amendments, with formal registration still pending as of this recording.
• He describes ongoing discussions about whether it is more effective to formalise as a registered party or continue as a coalition of independent candidates going forward.
• Hawwash notes upcoming council elections in 2025, mayoral elections, and the next general election as key milestones shaping the timeline for these decisions.

The 2024 UK Riots and the Politics of Immigration

Hawwash reflects on the summer 2024 unrest targeting Muslim communities and the broader immigration debate driving it.

• Hawwash recalls Britain as a notably tolerant place when he arrived in 1977, contrasting it with the divisive rhetoric he says emerged around Brexit and figures like Nigel Farage.
• He acknowledges genuine public concern about immigration levels exists, while criticising the double standard in expecting immigrants to integrate abroad while resisting reciprocal acceptance at home.
• Hawwash condemns the Southport attack itself as a terrible tragedy deserving full accountability through the courts, while criticising the subsequent targeting of mosques based on false assumptions about the attacker’s identity.
• He credits the UK government’s swift response to the riots while warning that underlying tensions, fuelled by rhetoric about demographic change, remain unresolved.
• Hawwash argues integration must work in both directions, criticising both isolation within immigrant communities and the far right’s failure to see immigrants as fully British.

Gaza’s Human Toll and the International Community’s Failure

Hawwash addresses the scale of destruction in Gaza and what he sees as the international community’s complicity.

• Hawwash argues the official death toll figure, drawn from Gaza’s Ministry of Health, likely significantly understates the true toll given the number of people still buried under rubble.
• He cites Lancet estimates suggesting the true death toll, combined with injuries, could approach half a million people, out of a population of roughly two million.
• Hawwash describes the United States as a ‘complete partner in the killing’, not merely a supporter, given its supply of weaponry and military expertise.
• He calls for intensified boycott, divestment and sanctions efforts, citing McDonald’s as an example of a company facing consumer boycotts after its Israeli franchise provided free meals to Israeli soldiers.
• Hawwash draws a direct parallel between Western support for Ukraine as an occupied nation and simultaneous support for Israel as an occupying power, calling it ‘the clearest hypocrisy you can see.’

Major Takeaways

• Hawwash’s political awakening traces back to a chance encounter with a Palestinian flag in Birmingham, eventually leading him to chair the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
• Keir Starmer’s comments suggesting Israel had the right to cut off water and electricity to Gaza directly triggered Hawwash’s resignation from the Labour Party and his subsequent independent candidacy.
• Independent candidates in the UK face severe structural disadvantages, including limited campaign funding and no access to party voter databases, yet Hawwash still secured a respectable result against a parachuted-in Labour replacement.
• Efforts to formally register a new whip-free political party, Reliance, remain ongoing, reflecting a broader push toward independent, conscience-based representation in UK politics.
• Hawwash argues the true death toll in Gaza likely far exceeds official figures, with Lancet estimates suggesting a combined death and injury toll approaching half a million people.
• He frames Western support for Israel as fundamentally hypocritical given simultaneous support for Ukraine as an occupied nation resisting occupation.

About Kamel Hawwash

Kamel Hawwash is a professor of engineering at the University of Birmingham and served as chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign for five years, following earlier roles as an executive committee member and vice chair. Born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents originally from Jerusalem, Hawwash has spent over two decades engaged in Palestinian rights advocacy in the UK.

In 2024, Hawwash resigned from the Labour Party in protest at leader Keir Starmer’s comments on Gaza and stood as an independent parliamentary candidate in Birmingham Selly Oak. His work and public engagement span:

• Palestinian rights advocacy and Palestine Solidarity Campaign leadership
• Independent and conscience-based British electoral politics
• UK immigration policy and community relations
• Human rights accountability and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement
• Efforts to establish a new whip-free political party in the UK

About Kianistan Podcast

Kianistan Podcast, hosted by Tafhim Kiani, is dedicated to amplifying voices whose personal journeys illuminate the wider political and human stakes behind major global issues. Rather than treating politics as an abstract subject, the show seeks out guests whose own experiences, whether shaped by displacement, activism or public service, bring depth and authenticity to the conversation.

This conversation with Kamel Hawwash reflects that approach, tracing one man’s path from academic life into frontline British politics as a direct response to his conscience on Palestine. Kianistan Podcast remains committed to platforming voices who translate global injustice into direct, personal action, whether through activism, electoral politics or public advocacy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Kamel Hawwash?

Kamel Hawwash is a professor of engineering at the University of Birmingham, the outgoing chair of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, and a 2024 independent parliamentary candidate for Birmingham Selly Oak, born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents from Jerusalem.

Why did Kamel Hawwash resign from the Labour Party?

Hawwash resigned after Labour leader Keir Starmer stated that Israel had the right to cut off water, electricity and food to Palestinians in Gaza, a comment Hawwash described as leaving him gutted, ashamed and embarrassed.

What happened when Hawwash stood for Parliament in 2024?

Hawwash stood as an independent candidate in Birmingham Selly Oak against a Labour replacement candidate parachuted in after Steve McCabe, chair of Labour Friends of Israel, stood down. Hawwash received 2,800 votes, a result he considers respectable given his independent status and limited resources.

What is the Reliance party Hawwash is helping to establish?

Reliance is a proposed new UK political party, still in the process of formal registration, built on the principle of having no party whip, allowing members to vote according to their own conscience rather than mandated party discipline.

Conclusion

Kamel Hawwash’s conversation with Kianistan Podcast offers a deeply personal account of how conscience can translate into direct political action, tracing his journey from a chance encounter with a Palestinian flag in Birmingham to standing for Parliament against the chair of Labour Friends of Israel. His account of the structural obstacles facing independent candidates, combined with his sobering assessment of Gaza’s true human toll, underscores both the personal cost and the broader stakes of principled political engagement.

As Hawwash and his colleagues continue working to formally establish a new, whip-free political party, his reflections on the summer 2024 riots, the politics of immigration, and the enduring hypocrisy he sees in Western foreign policy offer listeners a grounded, firsthand perspective on some of Britain’s most consequential political fault lines. His closing reflections on visiting Al-Aqsa Mosque after years of being denied entry add a deeply human dimension to a conversation rooted in decades of advocacy.

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