by: SKWAWKBOX (SW)
Surprise – his office is pushing for her deselection and that of other women of colour
Labour leader Keir Starmer has so far been silent on the vile racist abuse sent to Labour’s Zarah Sultana by an extremist right-winger, just one of a flood of foulness directed at her and other women MPs of colour in the party.
Sultana tweeted details of the disgusting and threatening message she received from an extremist telling the West Midlands-born Coventry South MP that the UK is not her country and that she is an ‘invader’
Zarah Sultana MP@zarahsultanaThis morning I posted about racist abuse emailed to me. This afternoon I checked my emails again. Islamophobia must be called out.
Starmer was prompt in offering his solidarity this week to the self-confessed ‘ultra right-wing’ Israeli ambassador, who was criticised by UK Jewish organisation Na’amod for her “appalling record of racist and inflammatory behaviour throughout her political career”, after she hastily left an event this week to avoid protesters.
And he has been active on social media today, sharing a Labour video and messages about the armed forces.
But to his shame, he has so far been publicly silent on the openly racist abuse toward Sultana – a fact for which he is being widely and publicly challenged
Joe Martin@joemartin66Show some fuking solidarity @Keir_Starmer for fuks sake!!!
Zarah Sultana MP@zarahsultanaThis morning I posted about racist abuse emailed to me. This afternoon I checked my emails again. Islamophobia must be called out.
solidarity, zarah. @Keir_Starmer is either a coward or a racist for not publicly condemning this— saeen (@ConceptualBIG) November 11, 2021
Jon Dexter@JonMDexterWhy has @Keir_Starmer still not shown any solidarity?
Ali Milani@ARMilani_I’ve never seen a full BBC story about local CLP politics, let alone about “trigger ballot” rumours. Yet when it comes to two young, women of colour, it gets full articles and tweets from political editor @bbclaurak. Stinks of racism. From in the Labour Party and the media. https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1458760592232230912
But it is probably unsurprising that he has shown no support. Apsana Begum, another Muslim woman MP, received none when she was acquitted on concocted fraud charges – with the rampantly Islamophobic Labour right instead scuttling away disappointed from the courthouse where staff had been sent ready to announce her replacement on a guilty verdict.
And Keir Starmer, who used a speechwriter with a history of Islamophobic comment for his conference speech, is now said to be driving moves to remove both women as MPs, along with two black female colleagues, in a totally disproportionate targeting of women of colour on the Labour benches.
It seems that for Keir Starmer, solidarity is only for the ‘right’ people – and the same pattern can be seen among many on his front bench – and the UK ‘mainstream’ media, which has been giving ample space to rumours of Sultana’s deselection today, has maintained a similar silence when it comes to the racist abuse aimed at her.
