• An unnamed Tory minister has said delaying the election until autumn could allow the conflict in Gaza to cause further damage between Labour and its voters
• Rishi Sunak has been urged to sack the minister by the SNP, which is demanding the Prime Minister launch an investigation
An unnamed government minister had said to Sky News’s deputy political editor, Sam Coates, that they ‘were worried there might be peace in the Middle East’. The minister did not shy away from mentioning his reasoning and said the reason for his worry was because the conflict in Gaza is perceived to be damaging the Labour Party’s relationship with its voters.
The unnamed minister’s comments come at a time when debate has ensued in the government leading Tory party as to when prime minister Rishi Sunak should call an election. This came as a follow-up to the Tory Party’s inability to rally its party backbenchers after the release of the spring budget. Last week, Rishi Sunak ruled out an election in May, possibly out of fear that his current unpopularity would cause his downfall.
The SNP has responded to the minister’s comments, and SNP foreign affairs spokesperson Brendan O’Hara MP, said: “The UK government has repeatedly blocked SNP calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Israel – and now it seems Tory ministers actively want to prevent a ceasefire in case it harms their electoral chances.”
“People in Scotland will be disgusted by these comments, which show the values of Westminster couldn’t be further removed from Scotland – where the overwhelming majority want an immediate ceasefire now.”
“30,000 children, women and men have been killed in Palestine and Tory ministers are more concerned about their electoral chances than securing peace. It’s shameful.”
He added, “Rishi Sunak must launch an investigation to identify and sack the minister responsible for these comments – and he must end his opposition to calling for an immediate ceasefire.”
As of writing, no investigation has been called, and Labour, the main opposition of the government, which is meant to be a spokesperson and a representative of the British people, has not commented on the matter. As much as we detest the unnamed minister’s insensitive pro-genocidal remarks, it must be noted that he is correct about the Labour Party’s relationship with its voters. Last year, eight members of the Labour frontbench resigned in order to back the SNP motion for an immediate ceasefire, but Labour leader Kier Starmer decided to amend the motion by rearranging the wording to make it seem as if Labour was backing a ceasefire, but in reality, it made it impossible to do so. Labour has time and time again tried to manipulate its base supporters into thinking it is on their side for the calls for peace in Gaza, but this has helped in the prevention of any real change in UK foreign policy. Only early this month did Labour lose its constituency in Rochdale, with the winning candidate securing more than five times as many votes. Distaste for Labour is increasing rapidly amongst its own party, and as the genocide continues, time may well be in Labour’s disfavour.
The worrying views of those in power and how it helps create divisive policies
Rishi Sunak has been urged to sack the unnamed minister, but he has shown no signs of doing so, and with elections expected this year, it’s likely he will want the situation to fizzle away rather than bring it to the surface again. This isn’t the first time a minister or MP within the government has uttered divisive language. Former deputy chair of the Conservative Party, Lee Anderson, said last month that Sadiq Khan is controlled by ‘islamists’. He was removed from the party not too long after his racially targeted attack faced immense backlash. However, shockingly enough, he said in an interview with Channel 4 News that ‘dozens’ of Tory MPs have told him he has done nothing wrong.
Former Tory MP and tory deputy chair has said ‘dozens of MPs’ think he has done nothing wrong
The reality is that the actions of those in power are dictated by the views that are held by those same people. With a likely plague of islamophobia and prejudice amongst conservatives, it’s no surprise that Michael Gove has decided to change the definition of extremist to clamp down on peaceful organisations. It’s no surprise that one of the organisations that the government is now investigating is MAB (Muslim Association of Britain), one of the six main organisers of the Palestinian protests.
One of the main organising groups of the Palestinian marches is MAB (Muslim association of Britain) who are now being investigated after a change in the extremist definition
All in all, we see that the events of October 7 and the genocide in Gaza that followed have displayed the real qualities and values of those in power by exposing their genocidal and racial tendencies that were shown in the form of action. The legacy of the suffering mother and child who had to bear the brunt of continuous bombs is not in vain, and with the awakening of a generation, their legacy will not be forgotten.
