Religion and ethnicity have re-entered the British political arena

The 2024 General Election will be memorable not least because – owing to the essentially fraudulent electoral system with which the UK is currently burdened – it delivered a huge parliamentary majority (namely two-thirds of the seats) to a party that obtained a mere one third of the popular vote.

The Tories are of course well and truly broken. Labour is in power.  But the LibDems, the Greens and Reform UK can also be pleased with their performance.  So can The Muslim Vote (TMV).

Launched as recently as December 2023, TMV is unashamedly dedicated to exploiting the electoral power of British-Muslim voters, who have historically cast the overwhelmingly majority of their votes in the Labour interest.

TMV’s website made and makes no secret of its intention to break this mould:

“Our goal is simple

This election [2024] signals a shift for Muslims – no more political apathy. We will no longer tolerate being taken for granted. We are a powerful, united force of 4 million acting in unison.

We are focused on seats where the Muslim vote can influence the outcome. We are here for the long term. In 2024, we will lay the foundations for our community’s political future.”

This pledge has been fulfilled. As The Times pointed out, in the twenty-one seats where more than one fifth of the population is Muslim, Labour’s share of the vote slumped by a quarter. Some Labour MPs, including Muslims,  heavily criticised by Muslim pro-Palestinian pressure groups, barely scraped to victory, notably Labour ministers West Streeting in Ilford North, Shabana Mahmood in Birmingham Ladywood and Jess Phillips at Birmingham Yardley.[1]

In the event TMV candidates won four seats previously held by Labour.[2]  And whilst it is true that Labour ousted George Galloway at Rochdale, Labour’s former leader, Jeremy Corbyn, standing as an independent, saw off a Labour challenge at Islington North.

Why was there not an organised Jewish response to this Muslim pro-Palestinian offensive so fiercely spearheaded by TMV? To point to the victories of Sarah Sackman (now Solicitor General) at Finchley & Golders Green and David Pinto-Duschinsky at Hendon is to miss the point. Whether we like it or not, religion and ethnicity have re-entered the British political arena. British Jewry ignores this at its peril.

[1]  https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/labour-mps-hit-out-at-intimidation-as-gaza-revolt-rocks-party-fz9m03br5

[2]  Birmingham Perry Barr, Blackburn, Dewsbury & Batley, and Leicester South.