Labour And Racist Cry-Bullying

After securing a landslide election victory on a mere 34% of the popular vote, new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his team are devoting rather less than their undivided attention to those constituencies they lost, or came close to losing. He would, he said after being gently prompted, address the loss of voter support in areas with a significant Muslim population.

The first signs of how that would happen are not good. Adil Ray was not impressed: “This is hugely damaging if he thinks he can carry on by simply ignoring the concerns of many British Muslims”. And then came Jonathan Ashworth. Ashworth had lost his seat to independent candidate Shockat Adam. Had he reflected on why this happened? Seemingly not.

He had been subjected to robust questioning by his constituents on why he had not called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. And, as Saul Staniforth observed, “Ashworth says his opponent won on the basis of a foul lie, that he has the blood of Gazan children on his hands … When 4,600 Palestinian children had been killed, Ashworth refused to vote for a ceasefire. When over 12,000 children had been killed he voted for a ceasefire”.

Also, he was waved through into the studios of national broadcasters. Shockat Adam was not, although he was given a platform by Owen Jones. His observations were to the point. Voters wanted their MPs to voice their concerns, but instead were met not with engagement, but silence.

Gaza was the lightening rod for many in those constituencies where Labour lost to independents, but yes, there were other concerns. As Taj Ali pointed out, “Labour's vote share decreased by 6.9% in the most deprived parts of Britain … When people see their communities fall into decline and they feel worse off, they will look for answers elsewhere”. There were other factors.

Where was the action on racism? The double standards which resulted in what Martin Forde called a “hierarchy of racism” in Labour? Defending Muslim communities from postal voting smears? Standing behind those communities over the phoney “Trojan Horse” letter? Denouncing the far right and its attempts to smear Muslim communities over “grooming gang” claims?

But all we get is talk of “faith-based politics”, and even “sectarian voting”. And an intervention by John Woodcock, former Labour MP and more recently ennobled by disgraced former alleged Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson. Woodcock is trying to draw a parallel between the Trump shooting and claims of intimidation of election candidates in the UK.

As the Guardian has told, “John Woodcock wrote to Yvette Cooper on Friday expressing his concern that a series of incidents in the election campaign could have been a ‘concerted campaign by extremists’ that ‘underlined the gravity of the threat to our democracy”. COULD have been.

There was more. “We have seen the growth in the UK of US-style politics of aggressive confrontation and intimidation which is unfortunately, exactly the toxic environment that could lead to another assassination attempt on a UK politician, of which we have already tragically seen a number in recent years”. COULD lead to. And more. Including suggestions of conspiracy.

“Woodcock said he believed intimidation was increasingly being used as ‘a core electoral strategy to try to either get candidates defeated or bully candidates into submission’. He added that there was a particular pattern of abuse ‘created by aggressive pro-Palestine activists’”. He BELIEVED.

Do go on. “The peer called on [Ms] Cooper and the security minister, Dan Jarvis, to commission a short inquiry to establish whether groups in different constituencies were working together before the 4 July general election”. CONSPIRACY! But this is so much evidence-free horseshit. The brutal and seemingly random mass killing, the blowing to pieces of little children (or their summary incineration), along with all the racism and taking for granted.

Some communities have had enough. Stop gaslighting them. Stop smearing them. And start engaging with them. That, Labour politicians, is your job.

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