A group of British Muslims have expressed fears for their own and ethnic minorities’ future in the United Kingdom after the election of under Boris Johnson as the UK Prime Minister following the win of his Conservative Party in the 2019 general election.
Once the election results were announced, the Muslim Council of Britain called on the Prime Minister to assure British Muslims of their safety and security in the country.
Sayeeda Warsi, former cabinet minister and Tory Party chairperson said it was essential for her party to “start healing its relationship with British Muslims”. This was a subtle reference to the historical Islamophobia and widespread racism that has been prevalent in the Tory party as well as the anti-immigration and anti-Muslim views entrenched within the party.
Popular Grime rapper and avid Labour Party supporter, Stormzy, said that the future was looking bleak for minorities following the 2019 election result.
The 26-year-old Grime rapper, who had earlier urged his 1.3 million followers to vote for the Labour Party, also took to Twitter to retweet a message from journalist Mehdi Hasan shortly after the announcement of the exit poll.
The Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain, General Harun Khan, explained the reaction to the general election by saying, “Mr Johnson commands a majority, but there is a palpable sense of fear amongst Muslim communities around the country. We entered the election campaign period with long standing concerns about bigotry in our politics and our governing party.
“Now we worry that Islamophobia is ‘oven-ready’ for government. Mr Johnson has been entrusted with huge power, and we pray it is exercised responsibly for all Britons.” he added.
Meanwhile, the Labour Against Antisemitism group said the election result — which saw the Conservatives record their best figures since 1987 and Labour their worst since 1935 — was a “damning verdict” on Corbyn‘s leadership of what they called an “institutionally racist” party.
They further explained, “The overwhelming reaction of our members to this election result is one of relief. Underlying that emotion, however, runs anger that the British Jewish community has been brought close to serious threat by the complete failure of the Labour movement to deal with the poison of antisemitism.”
During the election campaign, Johnson came under fire for his past description of niqab-wearing Muslim women as “letter boxes” and was heavily accused for being a personal contribution to widespread racism and Islamophobia in Britain. The newly elected Prime Minister defended himself by claiming he was “mounting a strong liberal defence of the right of women in this country to wear what they choose”.
Writer and political commentator Owen Jones — who had campaigned for Labour — said: “It’s a catastrophic result for the country and for everything that the Labour party exists to fight for. The people it was founded to champion, to represent.
“And I’m so sorry to people watching this who are full of dismay, horrow and who are scared,” Jones added.
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