‘Gaza Independents helped deliver Kirklees to Reform’

The local elections in Kirklees resulted in the defeat of every Labour councillor and candidate standing in the district, leaving the party without any representation on Kirklees Council. In Dewsbury South, I missed out on being elected by 24 votes in a contest where Labour was squeezed by Reform on one side and by independent candidates campaigning almost exclusively on the Gaza issue on the other. Two independents and one Reform candidate were elected, and Reform with 29 councillors is now the largest party on the Council.

We did not lose because our policies were unpopular but because the Labour vote was fractured. Reform consolidated the anti‑Labour vote, while independents again carved out a protest vote among Muslims almost entirely centred on Gaza. Responding to that level of fragmentation was challenging to say the least.

Twenty per cent of the Kirklees population is Muslim and now faces the prospect of a Reform led Council, undoubtedly aided and abetted by the post‑Gaza Independent movement. I am firmly of the view that this movement is one of the most damaging political developments to have emerged within sections of the Muslim community, both locally and nationally. Many sections of the Muslim community are now engaged in a form of politics that has become increasingly sectarian and divisive, leaving our community standing on the fringes of political decision‑making, without an effective voice or any real influence.

READ MORE: ‘Why these local election were so tough for Labour’

Of course, the genocidal death and destruction in Gaza should never be forgotten or excused. However, it has increasingly been used to drown out discussion of any issues affecting us in our daily lives. Even more concerning is that the discussion around the suffering of Muslims has become highly selective. In five weeks of campaigning, many people mentioned Gaza, but not one person mentioned Sudan where Muslims are fighting Muslims; where 12 million people have been displaced; where millions face starvation; and where 300,000 Muslims have been killed with some of the most horrific atrocities imaginable carried out against women. Both sides are supported and funded by countries who are allies of the UK.

Even more damaging is the fact that we are isolating young Muslims and future generations from engaging in broader political discussion within mainstream political parties. While foreign affairs are important, these debates are increasingly ignoring the needs of our elderly, our children, and especially the most vulnerable within our own communities, as more people disengage from mainstream politics altogether.

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Those who voted independent in anger will soon discover that Reform has no interest in addressing those issues that matter to them. The people who will suffer most are the very communities who believed they were sending a message. This affects not just Muslims but all decent and hardworking people who will face the consequences of our community’s     increasingly grievance driven and inward looking politics.

Politics should always be about service, not just anger; about improving people’s lives, not just protesting. While elections come and go, our responsibility to our community remains. This responsibility should not mean that education, health, economic welfare and social care are neglected to the detriment of the community.

Those Muslims voting for independents need to realise that the most likely outcome of voting for independents is a Reform government, more sectarianism and further disengagement from the mainstream political process. Muslims in the Labour Party need to set out this argument and challenge the false narrative peddled by the Independent movement that Gaza becomes the sole test of political legitimacy.

This is not about blaming our community; it is about warning it. If we continue down this path, we will hand power to those who have never had our interests at heart. Our political voice should not be reduced to a single issue at the expense of everything else that shapes our daily lives.

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