The mainstream-media at the moment is laughably 'concerned about the rise of sectarian politics' because of the impact that the Muslim vote had on the 2024 general election. The rather persistent Nigel Farage, newly elected MP after eight tries, says that the UK is moving back towards sectarian politics which excludes women, and has called out the British Muslim community by name as the sole demographic responsible for this shift in British politics. Such 'othering' is not a new experience for Muslims both here in the UK and globally. It is a double-standard and should be shrugged off. Other faith groups not only are not described in the same way but are praised when they coalesce around an issue and effect change. For example, the number of Jewish voters for Labour in 2019 under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn (at the time in the midst of an alleged anti-Semitism scandal) fell into single digit percentages, with early data showing that the figure under Keir Starmer has climbed back up to past 40%. If you are hoping for Mr. Farage to say if this type of voting is 'sectarian' or 'worrying', don't hold your breath waiting.
With five MPs elected to Parliament who based their campaigns wholly or partially on the Palestinian cause, the Muslim vote has sent a clear signal to the UK political establishment, "You need us, we don't need you". Labour's vote share dropped by an average of 11 points in areas with at least a 10% Muslim population. This shift even caused shadow cabinet minister Jon Ashworth to lose his seat in a shock(at) result. Until now, the unwavering generational loyalty to the Labour party from Muslim voters cannot be taken for granted. And if it begins to be taken as such, that mistake won't go unchecked or unpunished.
These strengths considered, the campaign was not perfect and there is a lot to learn for next general election, both for those seeking political office and Muslim voters.
Lesson 1 - Don't Split the Vote
Vote splitting in this case is where two candidates are competing for the same issue in the same constituency and therefore instead of voters pooling their votes into one single candidate, the votes are distributed across multiple candidates. The UK has a 'First Past the Post' electoral system so candidates do not need the majority of the votes, merely whoever has the most votes (even if less than 50% of the total vote) is elected. Had this phenomenon not occurred in the elections, more Pro-Palestinian MPs could have been elected into parliament. We can look at just two of many seats that illustrate this and show how damaging it is to vote split.
In Ilford North, Labour's Wes Streeting beat Independent Leanne Mohamad by just over 500 votes. Streeting has been a big name in the Labour party after being named as Keir Starmer's shadow health sec. in 2021 and the government's health sec. after the elections. In the same seat, the Greens fielded a candidate who secured 1,794 of the votes. Had the Greens not contested this seat, only a third of their votes (598) going to Ms. Mohamad would have secured her a victory.
In Birmingham Yardley, the exact same thing happened with the Worker's Party Jordy McIntyre losing to Labour's Jess Phillips by just 693 votes. The Greens secured 1,958 votes meaning if those votes transferred to Mr. McIntyre he would have won by a bigger margin than he had lost to.
There are some examples of independents competing against other pro-Palestinian independents, for example in Keir Starmer's own seat, which is even more concerning since they cannot use the Green Party's excuse of being an already established and mainstream party so have a right to legitimately contest elections.
While it is important for those who are seeking office to have more robust election strategies next time to limit the opportunity to vote split, it is ultimately in the hands of the electorate. Muslim voters next time must vote for the one who either first announced his or her candidacy or the one who has the best chance to win the vote by looking at pre-election polls. Where possible, a key lesson is also to avoid voting for political parties (even those sympathetic of the Palestinian cause) if your constituency has a strong independent candidate.
Lesson 2 - Cleaner Calmer Campaigning
While it is important that the Muslim voter base is fairly represented in Parliament, this cannot come at all costs. Especially not at the cost of our own dignity and decency. As vehemently one may disagree with the likes of Jess Phillips, Wes Streeting, Keir Starmer, and Jon Ashworth, it does not warrant some of the behaviour during the campaigning period of this election.
Reports of criminal vandalism, verbal abuse, and intimidation (the documented type, not the imagined type that Mr. Farage speaks about) are not only morally wholly unacceptable and condemnable but they are also counterproductive to the campaign. I saw personally on X (formerly Twitter) AI generated recordings being posited as a genuine audio recording of Wes Streeting saying he does not "give a sh**" about the Palestinians". This is shameful and Streeting was right to condemn it in his victory speech. What is worse, the strategy of the accounts who create and share these fake recordings is very clear from the way that they interact with people in the comments of these X posts. Sharing them so close to the day of the election, they know by the time that their posts are debunked, the damage is already done.
The Palestinian cause rightfully deserves our deepest concern, our loudest voices, and our unequivocal backing. This, however, does not mean we lose a sense of composure when campaigning in elections. The Muslim population of the UK is healthy and in many places the numbers have the potential to single-handedly vote in candidates into parliament. However, a key message has always been that this is not a Muslim only issue. The national protests over the last 9 months have been attended by people of all races, faiths, and ages. We must prove that we are a serious movement that has a clear way and are above anything else competent. Unfortunately, some scenes from this campaign have not offered that image. It is unhelpful for activists to have arguments in the street with politicians among other behaviours. I am happier than anyone else that Jon Ashworth lost his seat to Adam Shockat, however, I couldn't help but cringe at videos of him being approached by Pro Palestinian campaigners and, ultimately, just shouted at. If we want to attract a diverse range of people to vote for pro-Palestinian candidates, we must 'speak their language' and not display alienating behaviour in our campaigns.
Lesson 3 - Get Out the Vote
The UK has an estimated 20 seats with a Muslim population of at least 30%. However, traditionally, UK Muslims have not been enthusiastic voters. Of course, this does not necessarily mean that UK Muslims are politically disengaged or apathetic. Some hold the belief that Islam does not permit voting in elections so make the conscious choice to not vote. But there will be of course those who do not vote for reasons outside of religious. Some may have a lack of trust in politicians, feel their vote is inconsequential, or simply feel that their candidates have no alignment with their needs. However, this election has challenged those reasons for not voting. It is evident that there are politicians both independent and party affiliated (such as the Worker's Party and the Green Party) have shown that they not only agree with our views on certain issues, but that those issues were core to their reason for standing for election.
With margins as thin as 500-1500 votes it is essential for future elections that we encourage our families, friends, and communities to vote. Labour's win seems impressive, but the data shows that it is not. "An inch deep and a mile wide" is how it is being rightfully described due to Labour actually attracting less votes than they did in 2019 under Jeremy Corbyn; this is unintuitive but it is just the reality of our electoral system in the UK.
Offering the elderly lifts to the polling station, getting the unregistered to register to vote, and setting up postal votes for those it is more convenient for is standard practice for most parties and these strategies need to be implemented next election.
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