Sir Keir Starmer has been urged by figures in his own party to tackle “head on” those pushing “Islamophobic talking points” in the debate on grooming gangs despite Labour fears of losing votes to Reform.

Writing exclusively for The i Paper, the leaders of the Labour Muslim Network, have urged the Prime Minister to show the “courage” to call out attacks such as Robert Jenrick’s call for a crackdown on immigration from countries with “alien cultures” and “medieval attitudes”.

They also sounded the alarm that the “poisoned discourse” would only get worse after Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced plans to remove content controls from his social media platforms to make it more like the X platform owned by Donald Trump ally Elon Musk, who has revived the debate on grooming gangs in the UK in recent days.

The PM may take particular note of the intervention from Labour Muslims after his party’s performance in July’s general election suffered over its stance on Gaza.

Starmer on Wednesday again rejected calls from Conservatives, Reform and tech billionaire Musk to launch a national inquiry on grooming gangs of mainly South Asian heritage.

He also warned Tory leader Kemi Badenoch against the “lies and misinformation and slinging of mud” in the debate on grooming gangs and suggested he had “jumped on the bandwagon” with her calls for an inquiry.

Earlier this week, Starmer said Badenoch’s party was “amplifying what the far-right is saying” on grooming while failing in government to act on the landmark 2022 Alexis Jay report on child sex abuse.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Badenoch however accused Starmer of “enabling those people who wish to smear all British Muslims based on the actions of a small minority” by refusing an inquiry.

She also suggested Labour politicians may be “complicit” in “one of the worst scandals in British history”, which has blown up since X boss Musk launched a barrage of attacks on Starmer and Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips on the issue, and voiced support for jailed far-right agitator Tommy Robinson.

But Labour Muslim Network chair author Ali Milani and vice-chair Samayya Afzal, said they had seen evidence of politicians using the row to employ political strategies “predicated on demonising Muslim communities, attacking Islam and targeting (mostly Muslim) migrants who come to this country in search of safety and asylum”.

They wrote: “Muslims have had to contend with being called ‘alien’, ‘backward’, ‘medieval’, ‘barbaric’, ‘extreme’ and so much more. We recognise those classic Islamophobic tropes that suggest Muslims have an inherent problem with women, that Muslims demean women, and that Muslims bring with them ‘medieval’ cultures to infect Britain. None of it is true. We know that. The reality is Musk, Jenrick and all their friends and colleagues know it too.”

Milani and Afzal urged Starmer to ensure that fears over losing votes to Reform does not temper Labour’s response to the claims.

They said: “We know many are fearful of (Nigel) Farage and the rise of Reform. We have heard it from Labour figures across the party.But the answer is not to cower to them or allow them to define the narrative of Britain’s past or future. That is not only a recipe for division and further hate, but also of political suicide. You cannot out-Farage, Farage. The answer is to challenge them head on. If they want to divide our communities, we will unite them. If they want to attack migrants and refugees, we will defend them. If they want to embrace the likes of Elon Musk, we will stand in their way. Do we have the courage to do that?”

Reform leader Nigel Farage has fallen out with Elon Musk after he said there was no place for Tommy Robinson in his party, following Musk’s support for the right-wing agitator, who is serving an 18-month prison sentence for contempt of court.

After the comment Musk tweeted that Farage should be replaced as Reform leader as he did not “have what it takes”.

Source: The i Paper

Article by Rakib Ehsan

This summer’s rioting across parts of England and Northern Ireland were a watershed moment in community relations – and the fall-out is beginning to emerge.

Fresh British Muslim survey data published by Tell MAMA (which stands for monitoring anti-Muslim attacks) provides much cause for concern. Carried out two months after the start of far-right public disorder following the horrific murder of three little girls in Southport, seven in ten British Muslims surveyed said anti-Muslim hate had become more widespread, with two in three also saying that the potential for risk and harm to their own religious communities had increased. However, it is not all doom-and-gloom and there are also some positive findings which make me feel optimistic. Three in five Muslims said they still feel safe in Britain, with half saying that they felt more open about their religious identity in the aftermath of the riots (especially when talking with friends and work colleagues).

The findings show that while we are a relatively successful multi-ethnic and religiously diverse democracy, there needs to be a more robust approach when it comes to ‘managing’ this diversity – which is not necessarily easy. For the newly elected Labour government, the Southport atrocity and subsequent disorder was quite the baptism of fire – but its response to the far-right rioting was left wanting and appears to have alienated a variety of groups in modern Britain.

The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, sought to drain the riots of their political and ideological character from the get-go – characterizing them as “mindless racist thuggery”. In the aftermath of Southport, an unfounded conspiracy theory that the suspect was an illegal Middle Eastern Muslim migrant who had arrived in the UK on a small boat from France was allowed to spread like wildfire on social media platforms such as X, with little to no intervention by the relevant authorities.

Dismissing the rioting as “mindless” risks overlooking the fact that there was the deliberate targeting of Muslim communities – including mosques and businesses. This included the attack on the local mosque in Southport and the destruction of a café in south Belfast. In addition to this, in Manvers near Rotherham, a hotel accommodating asylum seekers was set ablaze and had its windows smashed in. The idea that all those involved in the riots were thoughtless racist thugs masks the reality that some have deeply ideological histories which include anti-Muslim hatred. Last week, it was revealed that a man who pleaded guilty to taking part in the disorder was previously sentenced to ten years in prison for deliberately setting fire to a mosque in Stoke-on-Trent. Back in his 2011 trial, Simon Beech – now 36 years old – said that he had been a member of both the neo-fascist British National Party (BNP) and the English Defense League (EDL).

Rebuilding after Southport

Starmer may have deliberately set out to downplay the ideological elements of the rioting because doing otherwise would leave him vulnerable to the accusation that he was justifying such violent disorder. But this strategy has meant that the Labour leader has failed to truly recognize the anti-Muslim nature of much of the rioting which unfolded in the summer – further widening the disconnect between British Muslim communities and their so-called ‘natural party’.

As the country looks to rebuild from the trauma of the Southport murders and the subsequent violent disorder, part of that must be reassuring law-abiding, hard-working, and security-oriented British Muslim families of their rightful place in modern Britain. To shore up our national ‘community of communities’, it is vital that we all learn the right lessons from what took place this summer – including the Prime Minister.

Source: City A.M.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has quit the Tory party because, she believes, it has become too right wing and toxic. I know and like Baroness Warsi. She’s feisty and smart and speaks her mind. But I can’t abide her deeply held, low tax, small state, pro-austerity conservative values. Nor can I comprehend how she reconciles that ideology with her passionate commitment to Muslims in Britain, many of whom suffered horribly under successive Tory governments.

Here you see two highly politicized female Muslims, whose views, at times, converge, but mostly diverge.

Twenty years ago, barely any Muslim voted for the Tories. That changed. Some, like Warsi, became prosperous business people and avid Conservatives. The rest kept faith in Labour, faith that is breaking over Keir Starmer’s response to Israel’s illegal war. Now we have Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chair, whose Muslim parents emigrated here from Sri Lanka. Times change.

Warsi’s new book, Muslims Don’t Matter, is out today. Cover quotes include this by the multiple award-winning actor Riz Ahmed: “Burns with righteous anger. An urgent read for our times.”

While she was working on the book, riots exploded across the country. Far-right extremists tried to set fire to places housing asylum seekers; black and brown people were assaulted, mosques damaged. Warsi holds right-wing journalists, politicians and intellectuals responsible for fostering that burning hostility. I am with her on that. As is the veteran journalist Peter Oborne, who writes: “Over the past 14 years, the Tory government has established a coercive architecture of control and surveillance over British Muslims, while granting legitimacy to what would traditionally have been regarded as the far right.’”

I also salute her for taking a brave stand against Britain’s inaction over Israel’s punitive violence in Gaza. However, I cannot go along with Warsi and other prominent Muslims who believe Islamophobia defines our lives.

Anti-Muslim prejudices sting us often. On Sunday, at a wedding party, a white guy noticed I was drinking water and asked loudly if I was a Muslim. I replied: “Have you questioned others swigging water?” “No,” was the gruff response. I was the only brown guest there. The encounter made me feel like an outsider. These moments happen a lot.

Across Europe, the demonisation of Muslims has led to a frightening political project which could lead to the religious and ethnic cleansing we saw in Bosnia. Robert Jenrick wants to arrest us for saying “God is Great” in Arabic, a phrase I incant every day. But panicked Muslims should remember the dark past.

Back in 1988, when The Satanic Verses divided the nation, I felt isolated and torn as the only Muslim working in the mainstream media. I was a lover of the arts, a believer in free expression, a Salman Rushdie devotee. But I also felt an obligation to oppose the attacks on believers by the intelligentsia. Tony Blair’s obsession with Muslim enemies within led to serious human rights violations. Muslims back then had no agency, no real influence. They have both now.

Four pro-Palestinian, independent Muslims defeated sitting MPs at the last election. Tory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch fears they have “alien ideas which have no place here”. And Jonathan Ashworth, the toppled MP for Leicester South, moaned about the result. They now resent those who campaigned and won on an issue that matters to millions of Britons of all backgrounds.

In the last election, 25 Muslim heritage MPs got into parliament, mostly for Labour. Two are independents and two Tories. Talented Muslims are rising high in the City, in the arts and sciences and other spheres. Muslim migrants yearn to come here because they see what is possible in spite of Islamophobia. Innumerable white Britons came out to protect the riot victims and thousands march every week for Gaza. We are friends and lovers. These are big, irreversible changes.

I come to my most serious disagreement with Baroness Warsi. Her intense focus on Islamophobia distracts attention from the harm and damage we cause to ourselves or the oppression of young Muslims, particularly females and young people, who crave freedoms and choices. Progressive Muslims need to confront conservative Islam as ferociously as they do Islamophobia.

Our continuing advancement depends on honesty, cultural liberation and productive alliances with human rights activists of all races. That is harder than simply fighting Islamophobia. And as crucial, in my view.

Source: iNews

This wasn’t a protest. This was supposed to be a standard general election declaration – where the most eye-catching thing you can usually hope to see is a glimpse of a candidate dressed as a bin or wearing a baked bean balaclava.

But it was the rise of a different kind of alternative candidate which caught the eye in Birmingham.

On a night Labour was cruising to victory nationally, huge Labour majorities in the second city were being slashed, and even overcome, by independents.

The scenes at the ICC were the culmination of six weeks of campaigning described as “gruesome” by Labour’s Yardley MP Jess Phillips.

There have been complaints to the police and claims of intimidation.

So what happened in Birmingham? Why did Labour struggle here while independent candidates thrived, and why is there so much anger?

In the run up to the election, political commentators – and I include myself – have probably been guilty of oversimplifying the issues in Birmingham, describing independents and Workers Party candidates in the city as campaigning on a “Gaza platform”.

That is true, but there are other, important reasons for the strong performance of those candidates.

Ayoub Khan was the big independent winner of the night, overturning a 22,000 Labour majority to become the independent MP for Perry Barr.

Speaking outside the House of Commons this week, he acknowledged that Gaza was the “prime factor” in his election.

But he also hit out at what he believes is the neglect of areas like Perry Barr.

He said: “There’s many issues in the Perry Barr constituency, stemming from homelessness to fly tipping, anti-social behavior.

“We have some of the highest levels of deprivation, cost of living. So I think all of those factors combined created a tsunami that resulted in my victory.”

And this is a message repeated by those living in ethnically diverse areas with large Muslim populations, overseen by Labour MPs and a Labour council. They feel taken for granted, ignored.

People here have lived under a Conservative government for 14 years, but some have had Labour MPs for decades – and a Labour-led council for 12 years. A council which recently hiked council tax by 10% and cut services.

In Perry Barr there’s a visual reminder of the council’s under-performance.

Land around the railway station remains undeveloped and flashy apartments, heralded as a legacy of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, remain empty.

While visiting the area I spoke with Roshan Dass, postmaster of Perry Barr post office.

He complains about the anti-social behavior in the area, his shop regularly visited by shoplifters. What appears to be drug dealing in the area comes to a halt as we turn on the camera for an interview.

Asked why people turned against the main parties at this election, he said: “They are frustrated – no jobs, benefits cut.”

He added: “Nothing has been done here, I’ve been here 43 years and I’ve never seen this area as bad as what it is now.”

And that feeling of under-representation is what appears to be at the heart of this election story: the rise of the alternative candidates, and the anger surrounding it.

Jody McIntyre narrowly lost to Jess Phillips in Birmingham Yardley but plans to carry on being a voice for communities he says are not represented by the mainstream parties.

He described the Conservatives and Labour as “two sides of the same coin” and added: “There’s something really particular to Birmingham that on a local level, as well as a parliamentary level, Labour are really failing communities here.”

Speaking after holding onto her seat, Jess Phillips defended Labour.

She said: “The fact of the matter is my constituents will be way better off under a Labour government… but we have to prove that.”

She also hit out at the nature of the campaign: “It’s been one of the worst election campaigns I’ve ever stood in.”

Both Jess Phillips and the outgoing Labour MP for Perry Barr, Khalid Mahmood, made complaints to West Midlands Police during the campaign.

A campaigner’s tires being slashed and intimidation at polling stations are among the claims, although no arrests or charges have been made.

A statement from the force said: “Our officers are aware of a number of incidents leading up to the election where people have reported criminal damage and harassment, and we are carrying out enquiries to identify those responsible.”

Both Ayoub Khan and Jody McIntyre have denied their campaigners have overstepped the line and both condemned any criminal conduct.

Mr McIntyre has also claimed he was the victim of online abuse which mocked his disability during the campaign.

Asked if the legacy of this election was division, Jody McIntyre said: “I believe that we had a unifying campaign that engaged all sections of the community and will continue to engage even more people.

“Political issues will cause division. Because people have different opinions. There’s nothing wrong with division so long as it doesn’t lead to abuse or personal mudslinging.”

It’s a little under two years until the next local council elections in Birmingham. But, based on the general election, it looks as if the alternative candidates will have a significant influence on Birmingham’s politics for some time to come.

Source: BBC

In a historic ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice, MP Shabana Mahmood was sworn in as the first female Muslim Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom.

The Labour minister and Birmingham Ladywood MP, 43, swore her oath of office on the Quran during a ceremony at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, marking a milestone in British history.

By law, the Lord Chancellor is the Secretary of State for Justice and the Minister of the Crown responsible for the administration of the courts and legal aid in England and Wales.

Presiding over the ceremony, Dame Sue Carr, the first female Chief Justice, highlighted the multiple historic elements of the occasion. She noted: “Today marks a ‘triple first’: the first Lord Chancellor to swear on the Quran, the first female Lord Chancellor, and the first time a female Chief Justice has sworn in a Lord Chancellor. These milestones represent the ongoing evolution of our constitution to mirror the society it serves.”

Ms Mahmood, known for her “shrewd advocacy and deep knowledge of professional ethics”, expressed gratitude and commitment. She reflected on her journey from a young girl in Small Heath, Birmingham, working in her parents’ corner shop to her current role.

“Being the ‘first’ is both a privilege and a burden. Getting this right can open doors for future generations, showing that even the oldest titles of the land are within reach for us all,” she stated. She also noted that she is the first Lord Chancellor who can speak Urdu.

The event was attended by prominent figures, including Law Society President Nick Emmerson and Bar Chair Sam Townend KC, who praised Ms Mahmood’s dedication to justice and anticipated her positive impact on the legal system.

Ms Mahmood pledged to continue “defending the international rule of law and upholding human rights” as she was sworn in at a ceremony in London. She also said that the judiciary must make decisions “without political pressure and undue influence”, pledging to be a “champion for the rule of law” during the event at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Source: Dawn

“I was talking about, you know, what is the first truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon?” Vance said at the National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., describing a recent conversation between himself and a friend.

“And we were like, ‘Maybe it is Iran, maybe Pakistan already kind of counts,’ and then we sort of finally decided maybe it’s actually the U.K. — since Labour just took over,” Vance quipped.

While the Ohio senator made the remarks earlier this month, they have resurfaced after Trump formally selected him as his running mate — sparking fresh backlash from British political figures.

“The fact Vance can so easily miscategorize the U.K. in this way, and make such flippant remarks in public, so casually delivered — his shocking line raised a laugh from his audience — tells me that, to this potentially incoming vice-president, the special relationship has become no more than a racist joke,” Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, the former Conservative Party co-chair, wrote in The Independent.

In a post on the social platform X, Warsi, the first Muslim woman to serve in the British Cabinet, said that Vance’s comments represented the “everyday Islamophobia / anti Muslim racism which is casually thrown around by some of the most powerful in our societies.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner rejected Vance’s suggestions, arguing that Trump’s running mate had said “quite a lot of fruity things in the past.”

“Look, I don’t recognize that characterization,” Rayner said during an interview on ITV’s “Good Morning Britain.”

“I’m very proud of the election success that Labour had recently. We won votes across all different communities, across the whole of the country. And we’re interested in governing on behalf of Britain and also working with our international allies.”

Rayner went as far to say that she was looking forward to meeting Vance in the event that the Republican duo was elected, but stressed that it was ultimately “up to the American people to decide.”

In the same speech, Vance urged his “Tory friends,” who were ousted from power after 14 years of leadership, “to get a handle on this,” referring explicitly to immigration, which remained a key issue throughout the U.K election.

Andrew Bowie, a conservative member of Parliament, blasted the senator over his remarks, acknowledging in an interview with Times Radio that while he clashed with Labour on numerous policy issues, he “absolutely” disagreed with Vance’s suggestion that the party would establish an “Islamist country.”

The 39-year-old bestselling author and former venture capitalist was announced as Trump’s VP pick on Monday, July 15, at the Republican National Convention, just two days after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pa.

Source: The Hill

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Party’s mayor of London, romped to victory Saturday, securing a record third straight term at City Hall, on another hugely disappointing day for the U.K.’s governing Conservatives ahead of a looming general election.

Khan won a little over a million votes, or nearly 44% of the vote, more than 11 percentage points ahead of his main challenger, the Conservative Party’s Susan Hall. He did particularly well in inner London but struggled in several outer boroughs.

There had been frenzied speculation on Friday that the result would be closer than previously thought, but Khan’s lead showed a swing from Conservative to Labour when compared with the previous mayoral election in 2021.

Mr. Khan, from the main opposition Labour Party, was initially elected to the post in 2016, becoming London’s first Muslim mayor, and is now the first politician to win three consecutive terms since the role was created in 2000.

While his supporters say he has multiple achievements to his name, such as expanding housebuilding, free school meals for young children, keeping transport costs in check and generally backing London’s minority groups, his critics say he has overseen a crime surge, been anti-car and has unnecessarily allowed pro-Palestinian marches to become a regular feature at weekends.

Mr. Khan was on the receiving end of a more directly anti-Muslim attack from Lee Anderson, a lawmaker who was suspended from the Conservative parliamentary party after he claimed that Islamists had control of London because Mr. Khan had “given our capital city away to his mates.”

Mr. Anderson admitted his remarks were a “little bit clumsy” but refused to apologize, and he later joined Reform U.K., a small right-wing party.

Thursday’s elections in large parts of England were important in themselves, with voters deciding on who runs many aspects of their daily lives, such as garbage collection, road maintenance and local crime prevention. But with a national election looming, they are being viewed through a national prism.

Continue reading at: CBS News