On 29th October, Jeremy Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party for insisting that anti-Semitism has been “dramatically overstated for political reasons”. Corbyn’s remarks appeared after the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) report concluded that there were “significant number of complaints relating to anti-Semitism that were not investigated at all”. Standing in solidarity with their Jewish friends, some Indian members of the Labour Party have sounded alarm bells around how they are “systematically driven out of or overlooked within the Party”. They hope that a similar review will hold Labour accountable for the “anti-Indian racism and discrimination” that is prevalent within the Party.
“There is an anti-Indian bigotry and racism that is prevalent within the Labour Party,” says Sundip Meghani, a Leicester-based Lawyer who is currently working for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Leicester’s 28% population Indian but no Indian Labour MP
Nearly two months ago on 15th August, India’s Independence Day, Sundip announced his resignation from the Labour Party following 20 years of service citing “anti-Indian, antisemitic and anti-worker sentiment of recent years”. Considering his track record of representing Leicester as a former city councillor for Beaumont Leys, and a Leicester Police Authority member, he was keen to stand as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Leicester East in the 2019 General Election. But apparently his application was not even answered by party officials. Sundip was not the only Indian candidate in the Labour Party contesting for nominations to the seat. Sources estimate that there were nearly a dozen other British Indian candidates including an Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah who had filed their applications but not even acknowledged by Party officials. According to Census 2011, 28% of the 329,839 people in Leicester are of Indian heritage but it is noteworthy that not a single sitting Labour MP is a representative from the Indian community.
Decreasing Indian members at parliamentary and council positions in Labour
Speaking about how deserved Indian candidates within the Labour Party are overlooked, Sundip says, “There are decreasing number of British Indian politicians in the Labour Party not just at Parliamentary positions but also at local council tiers now. And this is indicative of the fact that British Indians are systematically being driven out of the Party. Meanwhile, the MPs who are still in the Party, continue to have their own set of challenges. Some are deliberately blocked or overlooked in favour of left leaning white candidates. This prevents Indian representatives from acquiring a position of influence to properly represent the interests of their community.
“But the discrimination against Indian Labour members is not as grave and pronounced as against the Jewish members and thus, we had an EHRC investigation into Labour’s anti-Semitism. I am hopeful that a similar review of the Party’s alienation of its Indian members will also be conducted. But I don’t see anything happening even with a change in the leadership with Sir Keir Starmer now in charge.”
Corbyn’s suspension is misleading, Party machinery should be reformed
In the meantime, there are emerging reports that claim Corbyn’s allies within Labour considered quitting the party over his suspension resulting in speculation over the disintegration of the Labour Party.
Speaking about how Corbyn should not alone be blamed for the emergence of a “radicalised” Labour, Sundip said, “The suspension of Jeremy Corbyn is a vain attempt at trying to pivot Labour from its neo-Marxist and radicalised ideology. His suspension is merely “smoke and mirrors”. To blame a single individual of what is essentially a Party problem is misleading. They may suspend him for a while but he would most likely be re-admitted in the Party in due course. But the Labour Party, a union of 550,000 members needs to reform its Party machinery.”
Sikh and Hindu Labour members have expressed concerns for being mocked of their religion, being excluded from Party meetings and not being allowed to participate in key policy making sessions. Jas Athwal, was the main opponent to Sam Tarry In Ilford South, who ran Corbyn’s 2016 Labour party leadership campaign and it was widely reported that Jas’s last-minute suspension could be blamed on him. Assembly Member for Harrow and Brent has also consistently raised red flags about Labour’s marginalisation of Indian members warning the Party to not take the Indian community for granted as they would likely gravitate towards the Conservatives.
Confident in Sir Starmer’s engagement with the Indian diaspora
Supporting Sir Starmer’s decision of Corbyn’s suspension, Navin said, “Labour is committed to taking on board the recommendations of the EHRC report and its findings. I fully support the strong and immediate actions taken by the Leader of the party Rt Honorable Sir Keir Starmer. And, this includes the suspension of Jeremy Corbyn for a simple reason that no individual is bigger than the cause.
“Unfortunately, it is also true that Indian members with demonstrable track record have been overlooked by the Party. At a personal level I have had two setbacks - Harrow East and Leicester East parliamentary selections where the party failed to follow due process and showed no accountability. Under the new leadership I expect things to change for the better and I have confidence that our new leader will sincerely work towards forging better relationships with the Indian diaspora.”
Islamophobia inquiry in the Conservative Party?
While Labour is embroiled in repeated investigations on anti-Semitism, the Conservatives have also been accused of refusing to take complaints about Islamophobia in its ranks seriously and dropped plans of any inquiry into the issue. A dossier of more than 300 allegations of Islamophobia by Tory party members was submitted to the EHRC by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB). Incidents included party members calling for Muslims to be thrown off bridges and to be forcibly sterilized. An inquiry into the discrimination was earlier being led by Professor Swaran Singh of Warwick University.
Insisting that Conservatives should set their own house in order before criticising Labour, Navin Shah said, “For the last 45 years I have been at the forefront of fighting all forms of racism and believe in stamping it out no matter where it occurs. Shame that Islamophobia in Conservative Party is not getting attention in the way it should do and the Tories need to put their house in order before criticising us.”