The Muslim News - All-women lists conceal Labour’s antipathy to Muslims

Issue 168, Friday 25 April 2003 - 23 Safar 1424

All-women lists conceal Labour’s antipathy to Muslims

By Hamed Chapman

The disadvantage faced by Muslims in trying to address the democratic deficiency is underlined by the plight of the only ethnic minority member of Labour’s ruling National Executive Council, Shahid Malik, in being able to stand as a parliamentary candidate in a winnable seat. His experience exposes the apparent futility in trying to broaden the representative nature of party politics from the inside.
Malik had been patiently waiting to gain selection seat in the north-west English town of Burnley following last year’s announcement by Labour MP, Peter Pike, that he would be standing down at the next election. His candidature to become the first British-born Muslim to be elected to the House of Commons appeared ideal being his hometown, where his father has been the local mayor. But hopes of becoming a possible role model for others to follow were derailed when the NEC imposed an all-women shortlist on the seat.
As an ambitious mainstream activist, Malik was diplomatic about his bitter disappointment. “It is more important to help Labour win the next general election and obviously if I am lucky enough to be representing a constituency then that is a big bonus,” he told The Muslim News.
Others have been much more forthright in their criticism of Labour’s antipathy to Muslims. “It is nothing short of an outrage that Shahid Malik, someone who we all expect to be a future cabinet minister, is blocked in this way,” former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, Yusuf Bhailok said. “As a former CRE commissioner, Northern Ireland commissioner and Labour’s only ethnic minority NEC member, Shahid has all the qualities you could imagine,” he added.
Since last December’s introduction of all-women shortlists on at least 50 per cent of the seats falling vacant, Labour has so far declared 10 out of 13 on the recommendations of regional directors. These include two in Yorkshire, where there are high concentrations of Muslims. The move was condemned by the national coordinator of Operation Black Vote, Simon Woolley. “Labour’s equality agenda shoves blacks and Asians to the back of the queue. Labour’s all-women shortlists will be all-white women shortlists,” he said.
If anyone has remaining doubts about Labour being Islamophobic, they only need to see how it is being exploited by the British Nationalist Party, which won three council seats in Burnley at last year’s local elections. BNP leader, Nick Griffin, says he is convinced that his far-right party’s presence “contributed to the Labour Party deciding to impose a women-only shortlist on the local Labour Party and stopped Shahid Malik being adopted.” He said the decision proved the BNP had “influence” and provided a “great opportunity for his party to make great strike to reclaim Burnley.”
Malik, who also failed in several attempts to become a candidate in a winnable seat at the last general election, said he was dismayed by the way it had rebounded on Labour. “The thought of racists like Griffin attempting to exploit that decision frankly sickens me,” he said. His disappointment was also underlined by his support for all-women lists. It is “simply not acceptable” that out of 659 MPs, only 118 were women, Malik said. But he also argued that the plight of ethnic minority MPs was even worse with only 12 in the House of Commons. “The recent Census sets a challenge for all political parties,” he said, suggesting that the existing two Muslim MPs needed to be increased tenfold to 20 to be representative of the country’s 1.6 million Muslims.

Back to the front page

Editorial

Messages for
The Muslim News

AddFreeStats.com Free Web Stats in real-time !