Labour is, and always has been the Party of British Muslims. Although Iraq was wrong, the Lib Dems have failed to support a number of other important areas for Muslims.
Our guest writer is Rt Hon Sadiq Khan, Member of Parliament for Tooting since 2005 and Labour candidate again in 2010.
Labour is, and always has been the Party of British Muslims, and indeed that of all religious and ethnic minorities.
I don’t pretend we’ve been perfect – indeed, in terms of our relationship with British Muslims there have been some problems – but I do believe if you really look at our record and that of the other parties you’ll agree that for British Muslims, Labour’s the only way to go. Something new always has a draw, an excitement. And it’s easy to think of the Liberal Democrats as a benign left-wing option, one that has not been tainted by power. But before deciding to switch take a look of the details of what they’ve actually said and done.
Labour believes, and always has believed, that it is our duty to promote equality and to tackle the problems faced by the most vulnerable in society. This isn’t empty rhetoric, Labour Governments have delivered time and time again, from founding the NHS to introducing the minimum wage. So it’s no surprise that we’ve always had a strong relationship with the British Muslim Diaspora.
It was a Labour Government that gave independence to India and Pakistan; it was Labour-friendly trade-unions that encouraged new arrivals to become union members and improve their working conditions; and it was a Labour Government that passed the first ever laws outlawing discrimination on the grounds of race. And over the past thirteen years we’ve continued to deliver. But not with the support of the Lib-Dems.
We’ve brought the law up to date to prevent discrimination on the basis of religion. The Racial & Religious Hatred Act’s made it illegal to threaten people because of their religion or to stir up hatred against a person because of their faith. The Liberal Democrats voted against our original proposals and have diluted the provisions of this Act (as did the Conservatives). Labour’s made it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their religion or belief in employment or when accessing goods and services. And we have now passed the Single Equality Act – although the Liberal Democrats tried to scupper a key part of this that helps Muslims.
In areas where minority ethnic communities are disproportionately excluded, we’ve introduced targeted programmes. The ‘Race for Health’ programme is helping to drive forward improvements in health for minority ethnic people. The Minority Ethnic Achievement Programme helped narrow the gap in educational attainment between minority ethnic pupils and the national average.
Like many others, I believe the invasion of Iraq was wrong and Labour must, and is, working to repair its relationship with Britain’s Muslims which has been damaged by the war. I was pleased that one of the first Acts Gordon Brown did when he became Prime Minister was to withdraw British troops from Iraq.
While the war in Iraq, and other aspects of our Foreign Policy. remain a huge issue, don’t let this obscure the work the Government has done for Muslims abroad. Bilateral Aid to Bangladesh and Pakistan has doubled and we continue to provide millions in humanitarian support in Gaza. Overall, Labour has trebled the aid budget since 1997, we’ve cancelled debt and increased trade with the poorest countries.
Looking at the makeup of the parties is illuminating too. Labour’s had the first black MP, the first Muslim MP, the first Black Cabinet Minister, the first black Leader of the Lords, and the first Asian Minister in the Commons. I’ve been lucky enough to be the first Asian, and Muslim, Minister to attend Cabinet. And we have dozens of Parliamentary candidates of Muslim faith standing in safe seats at this election. The Lib-Dems don’t have a single Black or Asian MP and are nowhere near having one.
So, come May 6th, I urge you to think about which party has done the most for British Muslims in the past, and with whom you can trust your future.
31 Responses to “Khan: Labour’s the only way for British Muslims”
George
Days before the dissolution of Parliament for the election, Mr Khan, a transport minister, used Commons stationary and pre-paid envelopes to write to hundreds of voters in his marginal seat lauding his own record.
Under Commons rules, pre-paid envelopes and official stationery can only be used for official parliamentary business. MPs are not allowed to use them to send unsolicited mail, or for campaigning purposes.
Mr Khan earlier this year repaid more than £2,500 in parliamentary expenses after breaking those same rules by sending cards and letters to young voters in his seat.
Al
Mr Khan,
As a member of the public (i.e. not an MP) I can obtain and read government legislation online and I can make use of websites such as http://www.publicwhip.org.uk to see how MPs have voted on a particular piece of legislation in parliament. However, what I cannot know is WHY any particular party of politician votes in favour of or against a piece of legislation. There can be many reasons, not least the specific wording of the bill itself.
With that in mind, could you perhaps be more specific when you say “The Liberal Democrats voted against our original proposals and have diluted the provisions of this Act (as did the Conservatives).” in relation to the Racial and Religious Hatred Bill?
What sections of the bill have been ‘diluted’? What was their original wording? What difference does the new wording make?
Similarly when you say “the Liberal Democrats tried to scupper a key part of this that helps Muslims” in relation to the Equality Act.
What is the ‘key part’ of the Act? How did the Liberal Democrats try to scupper it? What was the eventual outcome?
I’m sure you can appreciate that without the actual details of the legislation that was voted against it’s simply not possible to determine WHY it was voted against. I do not doubt that most of this legislation is well intentioned, but that’s not to say there’s not flaws in the bills and possibly a better way of doing things, and that politicians would therefore be justified in voting them down.
Red Bandits
Yeah and its Labour that has been privatising NHS services, sucking up to Murdoch and making Civil Servants redundant, then cuts their redundancy pay. Why are Trade Unions paying Labour to cut our jobs and Services?
Graeme Kemp
It was good to read this – there is a video with the opposite point of view on ConservativeHome! I prefer this, above, though!
sajjeel ahmed
RT @leftfootfwd: Khan: Labour's the only way for British Muslims http://bit.ly/bb4Vrg