The latest results of local elections in the United Kingdom confirmed Labor’s large victory, particularly in London where Sadiq Khan won a third term, a first in the British capital. The Muslim community has largely mobilized in his favor, particularly for his pro-Palestinian positions.
In the United Kingdom, millions of English people voted at the end of the week to elect their mayors and municipal councilors. If Labor Sadiq Khan was, without much surprise, re-elected mayor of London for the third time in a row, part of the Muslim community, particularly in the north of England, has abandoned the two main parties. If in many cities the defeat of the ruling majority could have benefited the Labor opposition, these local elections ultimately saw the rise of a surge in independent candidates.
βIt is time to seek to create unityβ
This community would be unhappy with the inaction, according to it, of the conservative government and the Labor opposition regarding the fate of the Palestinians in Gaza. Result: they chose to abandon Labor Party candidates, in historic strongholds, to vote in favor of independent candidates against the backdrop of a pro-Gaza campaign. At the end of the weekend, it is therefore time for self-criticism for John McTernan, director of political operations for former Labor Prime Minister Tony Blair. “The Labor Party should be worried that its core electorate is turning away from the party on the issue of Gaza and giving votes to environmentalists or independent candidates. It is time to seek to create unity,” he says. .
Scathing example: in the city of Bradford, where 30% of the population is Muslim and almost a third of the population comes from the Pakistani diaspora, 13 independent candidates won municipal councilor seats. Among them, a new generation of very young elected officials, barely 18, 19, 20 years old for some. The polarization of debates and the divide that seems to be creating within British society is worrying.
Source: Europe1