by Sam Bidwell, The Critic
Muslim voters in Britain do not need the traditional parties any more
Last July, four independent candidates in heavily-Muslim seats were elected to Parliament, capitalising on the frustration that many Muslim voters felt with the Labour Party’s position on Gaza.
In these Labour heartlands, changing demographics have resulted in changing political priorities — and the size of the Muslim population has reached a critical mass, at which Muslim voters no longer need to press their concerns through a national party.
To some extent, this is nothing new. For decades, Muslim voters exercised disproportionate influence over our politics through the Labour Party. Through effective political organisation and lobbying, the Muslim community was able to make itself a core feature of Labour’s support in London, Birmingham and the post-industrial North. Muslim support for Labour candidates was rewarded, through Labour’s advocacy for the issues that matter to Muslims. In this sense, the Muslim voting bloc operated no differently to other special interest groups — much ink has been spilled about the Tory Party’s traditional reliance on the so-called “grey vote”.
But from time to time, Muslim voters also organised themselves outside the auspices of the Labour Party. In 2004, a coalition of Muslim community leaders and far-left activists formed the Respect Party, which was unofficially aligned with both the Muslim Association of Britain and the Socialist Workers Party. At the 2005 General Election, George Galloway was elected as Respect’s candidate in heavily-Muslim Bethnal Green, with further gains made in the 2006 and 2007 local elections. In 2012, Galloway won again in Bradford West, completing his by-election trifecta with a victory in Rochdale last year. In each case, Galloway channeled Muslim frustration with events overseas — the Iraq War, the Arab Spring, the war in Gaza — to win a surprise victory in a safe Labour seat.
