First Hijab-Wearing Mayor in UK Quits Labour Party Alleging Islamophobia 1,042 please log in to view this image Leon Neal/Getty Images Kurt Zindulka14 Oct 2020755 3:09 The first woman in the UK to serve as a mayor while wearing a hijab has resigned from the left-wing Labour Party, alleging that there are Islamophobic and racist elements embedded within the ranks of the party. Rakhia Ismail, a Somali-born refugee who came to the United Kingdom in the 1980s, resigned from her ceremonial role as the mayor of the London district of Islington last month. The former mayor has now announced that she is leaving the Labour Party altogether, saying that she experienced Islamophobia and that she felt marginalised as a woman of colour by her male colleagues. “I’m saddened deeply that the party I thought was for justice and fairness and ‘for the many’ is the opposite, from my personal experience,” Ismail told left-wing British paper The Guardian. “Therefore, I find it hard to represent Holloway Ward as a Labour councillor because I was battling with a party system that simply allows white men to have what they want, when they want,” she added. In one example of perceived racism, the former Islington mayor said she received an invitation letter to Labour’s first national women’s conference in February of 2019, which featured the word “Somalia” under her address. “What has my birthplace got to do with this invite? I was shocked,” she said. She also went on to cite the decision of the Labour Party not to hold an event celebrating the Islamic festival of Eid in 2019 as an example of Islamophobia within the party. The local Islington Council claimed, however, that the scheduled event was cancelled due to inability to obtain public liability insurance and other organisational struggles. Ismail went on to claim that she was shouted at by a Labour colleague for speaking to the media about knife crime in her area and that she was told to keep quiet about the issue at a group meeting so as not to damage the reputation of the council. “It felt like me as a BME woman that I had no voice. In the end, I thought what’s the point?” she said. In response to the allegations, a Labour spokesman said: “Cllr Ismail’s decision to resign is disappointing especially coming so soon after her term as Mayor of Islington, having served the borough admirably through an incredibly challenging time. “Islington Labour has a diverse and talented group of councillors serving their community. The Labour Party takes any allegations of discrimination received extremely seriously, which are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures.” Apart from accusations of Islamophobia, the Labour Party has long been embroiled in scandals concerning antisemitism, particularly during the tenure of former Labour leader and avowed socialist Jeremy Corbyn.
Seems the people you follow on Twitter aren't representative of the nation as a whole.... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/ar...-week-circuit-breaker-lockdown-half-term.html Who'd have thought it? Johnson is going to have to try to bring in the circuit-break against the wishes of his Chancellor and the ERG. Could get nasty.
Firstly I don't follow them. Secondly and most importantly is that more Tories support their leader than Labour.
Why? He always said if things got bad he would Lockdown ( however he is not keen) Starmer just picked up on it and made a political move. Who will go into meltdown?
I, m not as rash as you. I am not the one that spent countless (sorry pointless) posts about the number of daily tests. You just spend all day bitching about the government. Half the stuff you post is ill-informed and incorrect. You just find some rubbish headline ( like from the great Gavin) and post it. You never look behind it or see that it's legit. At least I spend my time looking at many views. Anyway we have been here before bob
to be fair you have said Starmer is a fool for asking for a circuit break. The only way Boris doesn't look stupid is if he doesn't implement the circuit break. If he does, then he's going to look foolish because anyone who has died between the time he implements one will have gone because he hasn't introduced one. I'm all for no circuit break though and just people going about their lives as we can't live in lockdown for the next few years. We just need to ride it out
This may be true - and if it is, I agree it's scandalous - but the bloke reporting is a Green Party candidate, so I'd like to hear this from an independent source
Like I say, you were perfectly fine with it. I'm sure you will be if Johnson implements it too. That's how super cool you are.
To be fair I have Never said he was a fool for asking for a Lockdown. I said he was playing political politics with people's lives... which he is. Remember the Labour MP who said they should take full advantage of Covid? I said he put Boris in a weird situation. However, I agree with what you say... which is what I said after the Starmer speech.
