Shockingly, this was the question posed by many people to me recently.
In an open democracy every community or interest group has got the same opportunities. If they are organised, focussed, and aspire to control, then the legal means of doing that are there for all to follow. We cannot belittle any group for trying or for being successful.
Table 1: Shows the top 20 constituencies in the UK where we have at least 20% of the local population that is Muslim (2011 census data, though I suspect the 2021 census data will be even more enlightening).
Another interesting fact, every single one of these seats is Labour. Though in the last few days Leicester East has now gone to the Tories. It seems for once the voters told Labour that appeasement of Islamists, the very people who are attacking Hindus, will not be tolerated.
However, in my view this control extends way above 30 seats and their MPs. To be honest, you have to stand up, applaud and admire the way in which they have brought the Labour Party to its knees. Just look at the Labour front bench!
Another interesting fact, the proportion of Hindus in those same seats is markedly low. In only 3 of those seats, we see the Hindu population being higher than 10%. And in only one they have enough to dictate the outcome, as they did in Leicester East recently.
There have been claims from residents in some areas that they are being intimated to leave. Quite an allegation, if true. I recall Hindus in Leicester saying the same, that the recent attacks by Islamists was basically part of a premeditated plan to intimidate them into leaving the area. Several families have already left the area, this is a failure of governance and policing, and it brings shame to the nation.
I have also heard the term, ‘ethnic cleansing’ of areas being used. I don’t like that term either, but I do understand the sentiment being expressed. The creation of separate ghettoised areas cannot be good for any community. Integration is important for our diverse communities to live in peace and harmony, and anything that creates a divide will ultimately lead to a distressed society. Whilst there are some areas where we find a higher concentration of Jews, Hindus and Sikhs, these communities have shown a remarkable ability to integrate well with the wider community. Maybe that is why they have become so successful and net contributors to the nation.
It's clear Muslims have a hold over Labour. Maybe that is the reason why Sir Peter Soulsby appears to have compromised the so called ‘independent’ investigation into the troubles in Leicester by already announcing that Hindu elements might be an issue. What is surprising is that the Home Secretary and the Committee on Standards in Public Life (CSPL) knowing of such gross violations of the Nolan Principles, seem to sit back and act as if nothing has happened.
The headline mentions ‘Ghettos’. I don’t like that word either since the term was originally used for the ‘Venetian Ghetto’ in Venice, Italy, as early as 1516. Mainly to describe the area where Jewish people were restricted to live and thus forced into segregation. Today we see the very opposite. We now have communities that choose to live in their own self-restricted areas. They dominate those areas and within its bounds, they exercise control. Some people classify them as no-go areas. I don’t think we in Britain should ever allow any area to be a no-go area.
The answer to the headline is yes. The Muslim community has become a potent force in British politics. It is linked almost entirely to the Labour Party that now depends on that vote bank. For how long will Labour abdicate its responsibility to the nation and continue its appeasement of just one group?
