Keir Starmer received a pre-election boost from Jewish voters in Barnet

Keir Starmer met Jewish voters, including the deputy chairman of the House of Commons, Edwin Shuker, at a Barnet cafe to hear them confirm they would vote Labor at the election, some for the first time.

The Labor leader arrived at the Oak Cafe in Whetstone on Monday afternoon, fresh from delivering a major pre-election speech in West Sussex.

He was greeted at a table inside the cafe by six Chipping Barnet constituency voters who had previously informed local candidate Dan Tomlinson of their intention to vote Labor on July 4.

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Some of those at the table told Starmer they had been Tory voters all their lives but had now changed as a result of Labour’s stance on both the economy and the fight against anti-Semitism.

Shuker told Starmer he had been a board member for 33 years and had always previously voted Tory, adding “we were scared before you came along”.

Keir Starmer listens to Jewish voters at the Oak Cafe, Whetstone

He said he fled Iraq as an asylum seeker because of anti-Semitism there to set up a new life in the country with his family, but feared he would have to pack his bags again as that antisemitism has grown under Jeremy Corbyn.

Shuker told Starmer: “You were the miracle that came to us at the right time..saying it stops right now and mercilessly and brutally.

He added: “It gave us that feeling that we were welcome here.”

Dan Tomlinson meets Chipping Barnet voters

Starmer praised Shuker and said his family’s story was “extraordinary” before adding: “The first thing I said when I became leader of this party was that I would root out anti-Semitism.

“Then you must follow because you are judged by your actions, not your words. People said we were ruthless, we have to be.”

At that point, another voter around the table, also Jewish, said, “If you hadn’t done that, we wouldn’t be sitting here.”