In the elections held in the UK on 4 July, the Labour Party (Labour) came to power, while the Conservative Party lost power after 14 years. After this change in the country, the Kurdish and Alevi MP of the Labour Party, Feryal Clark Demirci, was appointed as the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for AI and Digital Government in the new cabinet formed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Following this change in the British Parliament, a new ‘Friendship Group’ was formed for the Kurds. In the past years, a Solidarity Group with the Kurds was formed in the British Parliament under the spokesmanship of former Brighton MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle, an important friend of the Kurdish people.

Following the change of power in the UK, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Kurdish People's Assembly in Britain and the Syrian Democratic Council (MSD) intensified their efforts to make the campaigns on the Kurdish issue visible in British politics by engaging in intensive diplomatic traffic within the British Parliament.

First meeting held at the Parliament building

The UK Parliament's All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kurds (APPG on Kurds) held its first meeting at the Parliament building. The first meeting of the Friendship Group, which was established in an environment of deepening war and crisis in the Middle East and Kurdistan, was hosted by Labour Party Exeter MP Steve Race.

In addition to several MPs, the meeting was also attended by Baroness Janet Royall, Rector of Somerville College, University of Oxford, Feryal Clark Demirci, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and representatives of the British Kurdish People's Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee and MSD.

Feryal Clark, Britain's first and only Kurdish-Alevi female MP, emphasised the contribution of Kurds to British social and economic life for decades and said that the new group of parliamentarians should reach out to the Kurdish community in every corner of Britain.

Agit Karataş, Foreign Affairs Representative of the Kurdish People's Assembly in Britain, pointed out the importance of the initiatives taken in the British Parliament by the ‘APPG on Kurdistan in Turkey and Syria’ parliamentary group, which was chaired by former Labour Party Brighton MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle between 2020 and 2023, on the isolation of Kurdish People's Leader Abdullah Öcalan and the developments in the wider four parts of Kurdistan.

Stating that the Kurdish Friendship Group formed in the Parliament is very valuable, Karataş emphasised the importance of Kurds' problems in the fields of democracy, peace and equality being the main agenda. Karataş pointed out that more realistic analyses and solution proposals can be put forward by the Parliamentary Group by forming delegations to visit all parts of Kurdistan, especially Rojava.

Lord Cashman proposes active action against the persecution of the Kurds

At the meeting, Lord Michael Cashman, a member of the House of Lords, emphasised the persecution and oppression of the Kurds and suggested that the Parliamentary Group's charter should include plans for active action against the persecution of the Kurds in connection with recent developments.

After the speeches, the members of the APPG on Kurds discussed its official charter based on the suggestions of the parliamentary group of MPs and participants with the aim of solidarity with the Kurds and keeping the Kurdish question on the agenda in the British political arena. The main objectives of the group are to plan parliamentary questions, programmes and seminars on the Kurdish question in the British Parliament and to organise delegations to Kurdistan.

MP Steve Race appointed as the spokesperson

In the last part of the meeting, the official management of the parliamentary group was determined. With the discussions that followed, Labour Party Exeter MP Steve Race, who has long been interested in the Kurdish struggle and the political, social and economic problems faced by Kurds, was appointed as the spokesperson of the APPG on Kurds in the British Parliament.

The Executive Committee of the group consists of Jack Abbott, Labour MP for Ipswich and Matt Vickers, MP for Stockton West, both prominent figures in the Conservative Party. The secretariat of the APPG on Kurds will be led by Kurdish Progress.

The parliamentary group ‘APPG on Kurds’ consists of 41 official members, including leading MPs from Labour, Conservative and Scottish National Party (SNP) and members of the House of Lords from across the UK.

Members of APPG on Kurds include the following: Steve Race MP, Matt Vickers MP, Ayoub Khan MP, Harpreet Uppal MP, Alex Sobel MP, Kim Johnson MP, Bambos Charalambous MP, Shockat Adam MP, Jack Abbott MP, Joe Powell MP, Bob Blackman MP, Blair McDougall MP, Bell Riberio-Addy MP, John McDonnell MP, Barry Gardiner MP, Neil Coyle MP, Dr Zubir Ahmad MP, Joani Reid MP, Dan Aldridge MP, Steve Yamm MP, Jo White MP, Siobhan McDonagh MP, Jim Dickson MP, Grahame Morris MP, Rupa Huq MP, Chris Law MP, Marsha de Cordova MP, Fabian Hamilton MP, Yasmin Qureshi MP, Matt Western MP, Gregor Poynton MP, Mike Reader MP, Tim Roca MP, Baroness Jan Royall, Baroness Goudie, Lord John Mann, Lord Toby Harris, Lord Spellar, Lord Iain McNicol, Lord Peter Hain, Lord Michael Cashman.