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The Muslim Vote

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Logo of The Muslim Vote

The Muslim Vote is a British pressure group established in December 2023 which seeks to support candidates who oppose the Conservative and Labour leadership stances on the Israel–Hamas war among other policy positions.

Background

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A survey of Muslim voters reported that 86% voted Labour in the 2019 general election. After Labour initially supported Israeli military action in the Israel–Hamas war following the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, support for the party fell among Muslims, with a poll by Survation finding only 43% saying they would vote Labour in the next election.[1] BBC analysis of the 2024 local elections results said that Labour voteshare had fallen 21 percentage points in council wards where more than 20% of residents are Muslim and analysis by Number Cruncher Politics found that Labour lost 33 percentage points in majority-Muslim areas.[2][3]

History

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The Muslim Vote was launched in December 2023.[2] It is "modelled along the lines of Operation Black Vote".[4] Its national co-ordinator, Abubakr Nanabawa, was previously a Labour activist as a student at the University of Birmingham.[5] The former leader of Hizb ut-Tahrir Britain, Jalaluddin Patel, said he helped The Muslim Vote, and Anas Altikriti said he advised it.[5]

In May 2024 it released a list of eighteen demands for the Labour leader Keir Starmer, including apologising for his previous stance on the Israel-Hamas war.[6][7]

The organisation's May 2024 launch in Wales was supported by local branches of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and the Stop the War Coalition.[8]

In May and June 2024 it endorsed candidates in the 2024 general election. It says it chose candidates who oppose the UK government's approach to the Israel-Hamas war alongside a list of other priorities including support for public services and that "schoolteachers take cultural and religious sensitivies into account, not least when discussing LGBT issues in schools where most of the community have a religious background".[9] The Muslim Vote said that voters should spoil their ballots if they do not have a "pro-Palestine, pro-peace" candidate.[10]

The organisation was criticised by some Muslims for supporting four Labour MPs who voted for a motion that called for a ceasefire in Gaza.[11]

Candidates endorsed by The Muslim Vote received 462,728 votes in the election (1.61%), and were elected in 4 constituencies. All 4 elected candidates were independents.[citation needed]

Reception

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The Muslim Vote has been supported by a number of Muslim organisations including:[6][12][10][8]

Some organisations supporting the group were named by Michael Gove as being assessed against a new definition of extremism.[10] The Conservative politicians Andrew Percy and Iain Duncan Smith called the organisation a threat to democracy and the Labour politician Tan Dhesi said they were trying to "import toxic politics of persuading people to vote based on religion".[9] Stephen Evans of the National Secular Society called on the Labour Party to ignore the demands of The Muslim Vote, stating that the organisation "represent themselves, not Muslim voters", adding that Muslims are not a monolithic voting bloc and warning that "abandoning universalism to pander to this kind of sectarianism would be dangerous and divisive".[13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Khan, Shehab. "British Muslim support for Labour falls drastically, according to new poll".
  2. ^ a b Gohil, Neha (20 May 2024). "'We had to break the status quo': UK campaign seeks to mobilise Muslim vote". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Labour vote share down a third in some majority Muslim areas, analysis reveals".
  4. ^ Stacey, Kiran; Adu, Aletha (30 January 2024). "Labour acts on fears Muslims will not vote for party over Gaza stance". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  5. ^ a b Sigsworth, Tim (25 May 2024). "Muslim Vote frontman suggested Britain helped 'create racism'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  6. ^ a b Mitchell, Archie (7 May 2024). "Muslim group issues 18 demands for Keir Starmer to win back voters lost over Gaza". The Independent. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  7. ^ Gibbons, Amy (5 May 2024). "Muslim group issues Starmer with demands to win back lost votes over Gaza". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  8. ^ a b Mansfield, Mark (11 May 2024). "Muslim campaign launch in Wales aimed at getting people to vote against the Tories and Labour". Nation.Cymru. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  9. ^ a b "UK election: What is The Muslim Vote - and why does it matter?". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Holl-Allen, Genevieve (7 April 2024). "Muslim voting campaign supported by groups investigated over extremism". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  11. ^ 5Pillars (RMS) (6 June 2024). "The Muslim Vote endorses four Labour candidates". 5Pillars. Retrieved 7 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "UK election: What is The Muslim Vote - and why does it matter?". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  13. ^ "Scrapping admissions cap signals alarming lurch towards religious privilege". National Secular Society. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
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