Like Labour, the Tories have to vet candidates properly
THe is one of at least five worrying candidates
he fiasco over Azhar Ali, who was selected as Labour’s candidate in the Rochdale by-election before it emerged that he had said that Israel “allowed” Hamas’ attack on October 7 in order to get a “green light to do whatever they bloody want”, shone an intense light on the party’s scrutiny of its candidates. For all the claims Labour made that it had transformed its procedures since the Corbyn era, Ali’s selection showed they had clearly not been transformed enough.
It also provided the Conservatives with another opportunity to remind voters of Labour’s problem with extremism. But a JC investigation shows that the Tories, too, need to get their house in order. Shajan Ali, one of the party’s local candidates - also in Rochdale - was pictured campaigning alongside prime minister Rishi Sunak. Ali has shared a number of extremist videos, such as one by the leader of the now prescribed Hizb ut-Tahrir in which he called Israel “the occupying entity” and denounced Arab leaders as “donkeys” for failing to attack the Jewish state alongside Hamas. He is one of at least five Conservative candidates our investigation has found to have circulated extremist material.
Both parties now have a good record of suspending candidates when their extremist views are exposed. But it should not be the role of newspapers to do due diligence on those who seek elected office on behalf of mainstream parties. That is a role for the parties themselves and the evidence is clear that they are not taking it seriously enough. This is a serious failure. Whether it is at local or national level, those who are sympathetic to extremist views should not be able to pass the first hurdle of selection. Proper effort and action is needed by both main parties.