‘DON’T PIT ASIAN AGAINST ASIAN’

After local elections, MPs call for end to ‘racist, divisive politics’

RACIST, divisive politics which pit Hindus against Muslims and Indians against Pakistanis must stop, say MPs and the mayor of London.

Speaking in the aftermath of the local elections, several sources have told Eastern Eye that British Indians, voting in Harrow in London, deserted Labour because of the party’s criticism of India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his stance on Kashmir.

They also accused Labour of taking the British Indian vote for granted.

One senior Labour insider told Eastern Eye, “There are things that the Labour party needs to do, but there are also things that the Conservative party needs to do.

“There are things that the Hindu community and the Muslim community need to do, because the root of this is basically racist, divisive politics.

“Labour is guilty of allowing its members of parliament that represent Muslim constituencies to basically stir up issues that they know are flashpoints for the communities, like Kashmir.

“The Tories are doing exactly the same thing in the other direction. They are painting a picture of being the anti-Islamic, pro-Hindu party, and it’s got to stop.”

Last Thursday’s (5) local elections saw mixed results for Labour.

In London, the party gained the Tory flagship councils of Westminster and Wandsworth, but lost control of Harrow and Croydon.

One Labour source said, “Many Gujarati Hindus voters are clearly not convinced that the party has moved on enough from the Corbyn era.”

Westminster council has always been Conservative since it was formed in the 1960s, while Wandsworth has been described as former prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council.

In Harrow, which has a large concentration of Hindus, Labour lost eight seats while the Conservatives gained the same number. That meant the Tories took overall control of the council for the first time since 2006.

“We’ve got to respect and work with everybody, no matter what your religion or your background,” said Labour’s London mayor, Sadiq Khan, in an exclusive interview with Eastern Eye.

“We can’t play one off against another, I’m not suggesting that we did.

“What I try to do as the mayor of London is work with everyone. So, I have really good relations with all communities, whether they are Hindu, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish, Christian or not members of organised religion.

“That’s the way to do politics. I’m not somebody who believes in sectarianism, whether it’s religious or on other grounds.

“I’m a bridge builder, or somebody who works on knocking down walls.

“What none of us should ever do is to take anybody’s vote for granted.”

Khan is also clear that under Sir Kier Starmer, the party has not tried to divide along religious lines.