Analysis comment

Starmer silent on vile racist abuse toward Sultana

Surprise – his office is pushing for her deselection and that of other women of colour

Labour leader Keir Starmer has so far been silent on the vile racist abuse sent to Labour’s Zarah Sultana by an extremist right-winger, just one of a flood of foulness directed at her and other women MPs of colour in the party.

Sultana tweeted details of the disgusting and threatening message she received from an extremist telling the West Midlands-born Coventry South MP that the UK is not her country and that she is an ‘invader’:

Starmer was prompt in offering his solidarity this week to the self-confessed ‘ultra right-wing’ Israeli ambassador, who was criticised by UK Jewish organisation Na’amod for her “appalling record of racist and inflammatory behaviour throughout her political career”, after she hastily left an event this week to avoid protesters.

And he has been active on social media today, sharing a Labour video and messages about the armed forces.

But to his shame, he has so far been publicly silent on the openly racist abuse toward Sultana – a fact for which he is being widely and publicly challenged:

But it is probably unsurprising that he has shown no support. Apsana Begum, another Muslim woman MP, received none when she was acquitted on concocted fraud charges – with the rampantly Islamophobic Labour right instead scuttling away disappointed from the courthouse where staff had been sent ready to announce her replacement on a guilty verdict.

And Keir Starmer, who used a speechwriter with a history of Islamophobic comment for his conference speech, is now said to be driving moves to remove both women as MPs, along with two black female colleagues, in a totally disproportionate targeting of women of colour on the Labour benches.

It seems that for Keir Starmer, solidarity is only for the ‘right’ people – and the same pattern can be seen among many on his front bench – and the UK ‘mainstream’ media, which has been giving ample space to rumours of Sultana’s deselection today, has maintained a similar silence when it comes to the racist abuse aimed at her.

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15 comments

  1. Starmer needs to concentrate on cleaning up the act of the sleazy PLP including himself when his second job exploits are front page on todays independent newspaper on. “Corbyn blocked 🚫Sir keir Starmer on taking second job with top London solicitors De Reya” whilst a member of Corbyns shadowy cabinet.IT highlights not only the sleaze on extra money making scams by tory mps but shows that the leader of the opposition is up to his neck innit together with the Tory sleaze experts on taking the public for ride.We havnt even started on the Lords yet?So Our knights contribution this week appears to be attacking Mps of colour who just happen to be left wing and getting the Government off the hook with sleaze and corruption by showing that even the leader of the opposition has his snout in the trough….I think the standing of the House of Horrors is getting worse by the day as the pound goes into freefall on the world stage as it is becoming increasingly obvious that the UK are in serious trouble with world trade.and are unable to deliver.The old saying of its grim up north is quickly spreading around the country with effectively a government mired in corruption and a opposition parties reflecting the same disease.God help UK PLP because we all know who will have to pay for all of this….The working-class majority population of the UK.

    1. I keep hearing about these solicitors, I read today that they paid Lammy to make a speech. They are something more than solicitors.

    2. Joseph – The last stats that I saw showed that the ‘working class’ (C2DE) are now a declining minority. The ratio of ‘working class’ to ‘middle class’ (ABC1) is currently about 43% to 57%

      You say “Our knights contribution this week appears to be attacking Mps of colour who just happen to be left wing Do you have any actual evidence of this.

      1. SteveH …….that is because of Thatcher & Blair’s destruction of manufacturing & traditional employment in eg. Coal & Steel. with the employment of more women in the workforce & the expansion of service industries & the gig economy the criteria changes. ‘The class war is over?’

      2. At last, a small movement, at least it’s going in quotation marks now.

  2. The failure of Keir Starmer and the PLP to support a fellow party member and MP when she receives racist abuse is nothing new – Diane Abbott and many other BAME MPs can attest to that.
    Approx 14% of the population is of BAME origin and we have approx 2.5 million Muslims in the UK. Most of them come from poor or disadvantaged backgrounds and consequently Labour has been traditionally their party of choice.
    There is one very effective way that they can show their contempt for the racism in Starmers Labour – they shouldn’t vote for any Labour candidate who does not show solidarity with our BAME brothers and sisters or anyone who condones by their membership of the Labour Friends of Israel the human right abuses and apartheid visited on Palestinians by Israel. That applies to the rest of us too- actions speak louder than words.

  3. Theoretically Starmer is Zarah’s manager. Normally on hearing an employee had received foul racist emails a decent manager would immediately send messages of support. Likewise with Apsana being found not guilty. But no not Starmer, along with his supporters he’s too busy conjuring up opposition against them.

    Things are so bad in the party if it was any other Labour MP (well apart from left MPs) had suffered a broken finger nail he’d be sending messages of support. The mans a duplicitous charlatan and should never have been allowed to lie his way into winning the leadership.

  4. The tragedy is to some there seems to be a hierarchy of racisms with Black and Asian people near the bottom and Gypsies and Roma at the very bottom when we should be countering all racism with the same weight.
    Perhaps it would help if the Labour Party implemented the ten recommendations from the Asian Labour Network Report.
    One has to wonder if it had been another group which the Labour Right seem to give priority to, any recommendations would have been carried out at a stroke!
    Recommend Robert Winder’s ‘Bloody Foreigners. A History of Immigration into Britain. And found this gem- out of 8.5m who fought for Britain in WW1 2.8m were from the Commonwealth including the Carribean and India, in fact 50,000 from India died, 60,000 were injured, 4,000 were taken prisoner and 12 won the Victoria Cross.
    It is only perhaps in the last decade that this has begun to be acknowledged.
    Perhaps our Asian brothers and sisters in Labour need to start acting up!

  5. Didn’t someone say they had seen Zarahs name on a far right web site (or blog?)
    along with Apsana Begum and other Asian women MPs – as likely
    fr deselection?

    Can anyone provide a hint as to which web site this was? Only its might make
    evidence as to a rightwing conspiracy against Asian Women MPs

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