The October 7th, 2023, terrorist attack by Palestinian Hamas on Israelhas created schisms in British and international politics.
For the Conservative Party to side with Israel was a no brainer. It was easy and it is uncompromising support. However, we cannot say the same for the Labour Party whose natural position flirts with the extremists, and so their leadership now supporting Israel gives the rest of the Labour body full blown unwanted indigestion.
Keir Starmer forced a three-line whip on his shadow cabinet to tow the line and support Israel’s legal right of self-defence. You always felt that some of them did so but reluctantly, and this disingenuousness has begun to unravel in recent days. We have seen Labour politicians join the ‘hate’ marchers who come out on our streets in their thousands. They aligned themselves to those who were shouting, ‘from the rive to sea’, a war cry of Hamas to fulfil their ultimate aimof destroying the whole of Israel.
However, the fact that the Labour leader has maintained support for Israel has become an irritation that the Muslim community cannot hide any longer. There is now open hostility within Labour of those who support Israel, and those who side with Palestinian Hamas.
Within the Muslim community, in Mosques across the nationthere have been debates on where they now stand with their traditional block vote for Labour. The notion of ‘Operation Sharia Vote’ has taken root, and those who promote this idea are discussing how to target certain politicians. Let’s look at what they might be considering:
These are the top 15 seats where there is a significant Muslim vote bank where the sitting MP voted in ‘favour’ of a ceasefire. i.e. These MPs are safe.
Table 1:
These are the top 15 seats where there is a significant Muslim vote bank where the sitting MP ‘abstained’ onthe ceasefire vote. i.e. These MPs are in trouble.
Table 2:
These are the seats where the sitting MP voted ‘against’a ceasefire. i.e. These MPscould possibly be in trouble.
Table 3:
Therefore for ‘Operation Sharia Vote’ to be successful, the Muslim community would have to come out in force and vote against primarily sitting Labour MPs. It seems Keir Starmer is banking that when it does come to election time, most Muslim voters will still stay with Labour. There might be a few upsets, but in the scheme of things with Keir going for a massive majority, losing a few seats won’t make any difference.
On 29th February we will have a by-election in Rochdale. Yes, the very place that is now renowned for grooming gangs of Pakistani heritage. George Galloway has thrown his hat into the arena. He has come out openly as the candidate who will serve the interest of Palestinians. In this mad world the Labour candidate Azhar Ali has been caught saying some unsavoury things against Israel. Will Labour still keep him as their candidate? How do they explain that they allowed such a candidate to be selected in the first place? Remember folks, in Rochdale it seems the abuse of white girls is the last items on the agenda. The only issue in town is how to fight for Palestinians and undermine Israel.
The question remains, will ‘Operation Sharia Vote’ bring in their own candidates (either as independents, or part of the Labour offering or via some other new political party)? The jury I am afraid is out on that one. We are in uncharted territory. For the Muslim community General Election 2024 (GE24) will show if they can really affect change, or whether they remain a part of the Labour Party who are free to use them as they see fit.
Of course, should they launch a Muslim Party, or if Jeremy Corbyn launches his own party, then there is real scope of these two factions getting together to meet their own needs. Namely to give Labour a bloody nose.Potentially changing the outcome of the election itself.
As a socio-political commentator, for me it would be interestingto see each entity come out fighting with serious intent. Our nation is caught in the middle of culture wars. The British identity is now so scrambled that most people are not sure what it stands for. In this fluid space of competing narratives, it’s game on for all entities to fight for the soul of the nation. GE 24 is not just about winning an election; it will be about where this nation goes next and whether the very fabric of this nation will tear itself apart.
For those who think it’s nothing to do with them, let me remind them, your action now will determine whether your children and theirs will have a future in Britain that we recognise as British.
