Starmer’s Labour has found a culprit for losing the Red Wall: Muslim voters
JVL Introduction
Anticipating disaster at Batley & Spen, some Labour enthusiasts resorted to crude smears about Muslim voters, as we reported last week in our post When you can’t blame Jeremy!
In this article from Middle East Eye Peter Oborne explores some of the good reasons Muslim voters may have for not being gung-ho for Keir Starmer.
High among these is Starmer’s failure to address Islamophobia within the Labour Party itself, as well as gross insensitivity on issues many of these voters care passionately about.
It’s not rocket science and a resort to allegations of antisemitism is simply a racist smear.
This article was originally published by Middle East Eye on Fri 25 Jun 2021. Read the original here.
Starmer's Labour has found a culprit for losing the Red Wall: Muslim voters
Instead of honestly examining the problems within the Labour Party, Starmer’s team is again playing the antisemitism card
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I read the letter Starmer was sent by Community leaders from Batley&Spen, and it explained in great detail why they are feeling disenfranchised from Labour.
I did not think that Labour leadership could sink this dangerously low by using smear campaigns against our Asian population. So far they have done their best to lose oaps, people with disabilities, young people, women members, NHS staff, huge parts of the membership, people working in unsafe jobs/zero hours contracts.
I am really wondering what other demographics are left that they could alienate.
It is noticeable that the investigation into who made these comments that Angela Rayner promised has fallen off the agenda. Perhaps Angela realised that the culprit was either Starmer or someone so close to him that no good would come of it.
The problem with Peter Oborne is that underneath he is a bourgeois columnist and still operates within that consensus, albeit a radical one. So he never questions the basic premise of Labour’s antisemitism crisis which was never about antisemitism.
That is why there is no attempt to seriously deal with Islamaphobia since you would have to begin with Blair’s government.
This demonisation of the Muslim community as antisemitic is a favourite Zionist theme. The CAA has even produced a Report on the topic concluding that Muslim’s reserve a ‘special hatred’ for Jews.
The elephant in the room is in fact Jewish racism. I have no doubt that the level of Islamaphobia and in particular anti-Arab racism amongst Jews is far higher than its equivalent in the Muslim community, yet for some strange reason no one wants to find out or commission an opinion poll.
The comment to the Mail by Starmer or those close to him is, as Peter says, a classic example of racist scapegoating It is for that reason that the Labour Campaign for Free Speech Steering Committee decided last week that we could not advocate voting Labour in the Batley and Spen by election.
One of the most important influences on Muslim opinion was the refusal of Starmer to accept the invitation to an Iftar meal because one of the organisers supported BDS. Many Muslims considered this to be the ultimate insult. That action seems to show that Starmer is more sensitive to the views of Israel supporters than to the concerns of the Muslim community
At least Oborne accepts there is no real evidence that Jeremy is antisemitic. That cannot be said of senior Right Wing Labour MPs who should know better.
“I did not think that Labour leadership could sink this dangerously low by using smear campaigns against our Asian population.” Neither did I. Yet, I suspect we’ll see more of this. I am very concerned about some sort of centrist ‘common sense’ Islamophobia becoming part of their new normal.
Thank you so much. I wrote to my MP today about him also readmitting trevor phillips after his blatant racism. As a muslim i will NEVER vote whilst starmer is in chargen