Tory leadership hopeful’s rant condemned as ‘an attack on democracy’
Tory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has been described as Islamophobic and a ‘threat to democracy’ by a group of five independent MPs for her ‘outrageous slur’ in describing the anti-genocide MPs as ‘sectarian’ and ‘Islamist’. Four of the MPs are Muslims elected in July as independents as local voters reacted against the collusion of Labour and the Tories in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The fifth is former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a staunch ally of Palestinians and ardent anti-war campaigner.
Badenoch has also said that she finds the presence of the pro-Palestinian MPs in Parliament ‘far more’ worrying than the rise of the fascist Reform ‘party’:
I was far more worried about the five new MPs elected on the back of sectarian Islamist politics; alien ideas that have no place here. The sort of politics we need to defeat and defeat quickly.
In a statement, the five MPs – now part of the ‘Independents Alliance’ in the Commons, replied:
Kemi Badenoch’s outrageous slur is an attack on democracy.
As democratically elected MPs, we are proud to speak up on the issues that matter to our constituents, including the two-child-benefits cap, the rights of refugees and the ongoing massacre of Palestinians.
By describing these demands as ‘sectarian Islamist politics,’ Badenoch maligns thousands of voters and peace campaigners.
Her smear should be called out for what it is: Islamophobia.
Last month, we witnessed horrific far-right violence across the country, fuelled by racist rhetoric from mainstream politicians.
Kemi Badenoch’s reckless comments add fuel to the fire – and she should retract them immediately.
We are proud to represent diverse communities – and we were elected to serve our constituents in pursuit of a more hopeful, united and peaceful society.
We would urge Kemi Badenoch to do the same.
Adnan Hussain, MP for Blackburn
Ayoub Khan, MP for Birmingham Perry Barr
Iqbal Mohamed, MP for Dewsbury and Batley
Jeremy Corbyn, MP for Islington North
Shockat Adam, MP for Leicester South
Badenoch’s racism was supported by senior Tory front-bencher Chris Philp, who said in February that Reform MP Lee Anderson’s racist comments about ‘Islamists have control’ of London mayor Sadiq Khan were only wrong because Anderson ‘conflated Islamism…with Muslims as a whole’. Philp, once described as a ‘nose seeking a backside’, condemned the independent MPs for:
appealing particularly to the Muslim community.
Islamophobia and racism are now thoroughly ensconced on both front benches. Among the Blue Tories, the would-be leaders are fighting over who can be the worst for humanity. Challenger Tom Tugendhat wants to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights if it hampers deportations and has promised massive increases in military spending.
For the Red Tory team, Keir Starmer and his acolytes have already promised a big increase in arms spending and continue to support Israel’s genocide, despite attempting to fool voters by announcing a token tiny and ineffective reduction in arms export licences to the Netanyahu regime. Starmer is also waging war on journalism and free speech about Israel’s mass murder in Gaza and the Palestinians’ right to resist occupation and slaughter, which is enshrined in international law. Starmer’s enforcers have stepped up arrests of British journalists for doing their job of reporting facts about the genocide and are prosecuting a number of anti-genocide activists for expressing pro-Palestinian opinions.
Both ‘main’ parties are inciting violence and racism and the independent MPs are right to speak out.
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Is it so difficult to acknowledge that there are extremists who purport to act in accordance with Islam, Judaism and other religions but are worthy of nothing other than contempt? To conflate these with those who see genocide being openly pursued is not only stupid and ignorant but grossly offensive
I would like to know where these “extremists” are in the UK?? As a muslim who has been to many many mosques and knows thousands of Muslims, I dont know any.
It very much depends on whose definition of “extremist” is being applied.
This particular invective has been doing a great deal of hard work for not just decades but centuries for The Official Narrative (TON).
Over time, we have had all sorts of people and groups fall under this convenient bogeyman definition. From the Irish to Scottish nationalists; slaves to trade unions; the political left to the political right; socialists to CND; and anyone else who gets too uppity against the imposed narrative, discourse and definitions applied by the Oligarch class, its PMC minders, and their useless idiot sycophantic shills.
They’re on the media.
The whole ‘extremist’ narrative is McCarthyite. There have been anti-imperialists for as long as there has been western empire and colonialism. For much of the 20th C anti-imperialists were campaigning within the Labour Party.
This is revisionist racist nonsense and sadly racist-imperialism of Tony Blair & New Labour opened the door for it.
Philp, once described as a ‘nose seeking a backside’,
Good description I heard about that irredeemable gawp was: Looking like a shaved afghan hound.
As for badenoch, didn’t I hear from the whopper, a complaint about the pronunciation of the surname?
It isn’t ‘baddy-knock’ , it’s ‘bay-da-nok
Well thanks for that, kemi. Not that I’m arsed how it’s pronounced, because despite any further protest, I will not be convinced that there isn’t a hyphen missing from the surname.
You’ll always be a bad-enoch to me.👍😉.
Callous doesn’t cover it
Video https://en.mehrnews.com/news/220628/VIDEO-Israeli-soldier-This-Explosion-is-for-you
Islamophobia is the acceptable bigotry across the UK. Ive had death threats. The latest one took police 4 months to email me back. 5 weeks ago they promised a detective would be in touch within the next week. Yet NOTHING. Nobody has even called me or emailled again. Ive over 3000 screenshots in the last 6 months of islamophobia you can’t even imagine. Facebook and twitter of course find it all very acceptable and reporting it does nothing either. Although the death threat the last time did see the account suspended. The ones ive had in the past, the accounts are still active. Twitter was kind enough to add a cover to a death threat to me and all muslims so visibility was only after pressing to view it.
I have a bowel and lung tumour and have been unable to get out of bed since November last year. During the riots my bedroom window was smashed with people shouting “pa..” at my Moroccan husband.
Things aint changing any time soon as both starmer and the tories find islamophobia acceptable.
Meanwhile, some more despicable behaviour by Starmer and his henchpeople:
https://www.declassifieduk.org/starmer-permanently-ties-uk-nuclear-arsenal-to-washington/