Labour accused of institutional racism as seven councillors quit all at once

On Monday 3 May, seven Labour councillors resigned in Slough, accusing the Labour Party of institutional racism. With only four and a half weeks until the general election, this isn’t good new for Keir Starmer:

BREAKING: 7 Labour councillors in Slough have resigned, accusing the Labour party of institutional racism.

In their resignation letter, they cite the deselection of Faiza Shaheen and the treatment of Diane Abbott as well as censorship over Gaza.

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) June 3, 2024

‘We must stay true to our values and conscience, even if the party we once believed in has abandoned them.’

1) Councillor Zafar Ajaib

2) Cllr Sabia Akram

3) Cllr Haqeeq Dar

4) Cllr Mohammed Nazir

5) Cllr Naveeda Waseem

6) Cllr Waqas Sabah

7) Cllr Jamila Sabah

— Taj Ali (@Taj_Ali1) June 3, 2024

Betrayal by Labour Party leadership

Both members and councillors in Slough pointed to systemic corruption, racism, and betrayal by the party leadership. In their resignation letter they stated:

We must stay true to our values and conscience, even if the party we once believed in has abandoned them.

The southeast regional board has ignored our grievances. Evidence of selection rigging, GDPR breaches, and membership abuse remains unaddressed. Instead, priority has been given to other party matters, allowing those implicated to retain senior positions and contest elections under the Labour banner.

It seems that Labour has shifted to silencing anyone that tries to stand up for what is right. Worryingly, this seems more like something straight from the Tory playbook:

This seems so poor by Labour and so close to the GE. As bad as the Tories before they’ve even got elected.

— Silenced by Tw**ter (@_emrul) June 3, 2024

How much is it about institutional racism, and how much is it about silencing voices that have dared to protest against human rights abuses in Palestine?

— Marwood (@AndMarwood) June 3, 2024

The councillors that resigned also highlighted the recent deselection of Faiza Shaheen and Diane Abbott in their resignation letters:

The recent suspension of Faiza Shaheen and the forced deselection of Diane Abbott highlight the institutional racism within the party, as identified in the Forde report. This purging of loyal members in favour of subservient candidates reflects a party more concerned with power than principles.

Slough CLP, predominantly composed of BAME members, has faced threats of deselection for speaking out against injustices in Gaza and criticising Israel. The shocking comments made by an NEC member advocating for ethnic cleansing and opposing international law have gone unpunished. Yet, this individual has been parachuted into a safe Labour seat for the upcoming General Election.

Calls for an investigation

Funnily enough, when a journalist asked Keir Starmer what he made of the situation, he avoided the question completely. Maybe he forgot he’s no longer a criminal defence lawyer? Or perhaps he’s getting confused because he’s drowning in corruption. It seems the Labour Party only investigates racism accusations when they’re aimed at those on the left of the party:

Nice to see he is doing his “I have prepared a statement on behalf of my client and I will not be making any other comment” to a direct question.

— Richard Ash (@LoveGraphs) June 4, 2024

As the Canary reported last week, Labour’s shocking treatment of Diane Abbott was nothing short of misogynoir. If Abbott were white, the party would have treated her far more respectfully. Understandably, people on X have called for an independent investigation into the anti-Black racism and Islamophobia that is currently rife within the Labour Party:

I think there now has to be independant investigation into anti black racism and Islamaphobia ib labour party.

This is absolitely ridiculous what labour are upto.

— A-I (@Unlucky_Dude2) June 4, 2024

As previously detailed by the Canary, the Forde report concluded that Keir Starmer oversees a “hierarchy of racism” in Labour. The party’s National Executive Council (NEC) published the report in 2022. Notably, it illustrated how the Labour Party views accusations of antisemitism as far more important than those of Islamophobia.

Similar to Burnley mass resignations ۔The local , regional and indeed the national leadership did not listen to democratic voices ۔#GazaGenocide‌ #GazaStraving #Palestine

— Kasher Meer (@KasherMeer31) June 3, 2024

Censorship over Gaza during the general election

X users also called Labour out for their blatant censorship over any criticism of Israel. The party deselected candidates, such as Faiza Shaheen in favour of literal Zionists. The party have made it clear that minorities aren’t welcome. However, if you agree with Palestinian babies being bombed – welcome aboard!

People on social media applauded the Slough councillors for taking a stand:

Good for them.

They are people of principle.

The censorship of criticism of Gaza is disgusting, as is the parachuting of Zionist Luke Akehurst into Durham safe seat.

Labour didn’t listen even when they lost local seats due to their support of genocidal Israel.

— Applelight (@Applelight4) June 4, 2024

Starmer is making it increasingly clear that Labour is no longer the party for the many. The right are settling in and making themselves at home. Meanwhile, they have abandoned the working class. The ‘Change’ he keeps banging on about seems to be driving people away and stomping on marginalised, minority and working class communities:

This is important. Starmer isn’t going to win because the Left has made a resounding comeback. Its because he’s actively been endorsed by the Right. Playing electoral politics is one thing but to abandon your own voter base to try and win elections is just not it. https://t.co/us5QIuopXA

— Adil Zuberi (@adil_zuberi) June 4, 2024

It’s not just labour voters that will turn on him, it’ll be the right wing factions within labour that he’s aligned with also.
Political history teaches us that if you desert your supporters to appease your detractors eventually you’ll be left in the middle with no support.

— Steve Cambridge 💚 (@stevencambs) June 4, 2024

We’ve seen how Starmer has treated members, councillors, and MP’s. If anyone thinks he won’t treat the public at large in exactly the same way after the general election – they need to give themselves a good shake.

Feature image image via Sky News/YouTube