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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Aamna Mohdin

Sayeeda Warsi on leaving the Tories: ‘You have to recognise when a relationship is toxic’

Portrait of Sayeeda Warsi in dark blue blazer sitting at a white table with white wall behind.
Sayeeda Warsi: ‘As I was writing the book, I was saying: do people see where this is going to go? Do people understand how serious this could get?’ Photograph: Suki Dhanda/The Guardian

Until yesterday, Sayeeda Warsi was one of the highest-profile Muslims in the Conservative party. Some hailed her as a symbol of Tory diversity; others criticised her for sticking with a party that appeared to harbour Islamophobes. So when the 53-year-old peer announced on X that she was resigning the Conservative whip, it wasn’t just Westminster-watchers who were shocked.

Even Warsi seems a little dazed when we talk the morning after. She remains a Conservative at heart, she says, laughing when I ask if she is about to join Labour or the Liberal Democrats. Politically, she remains to the centre right. “I just don’t think my party is any more,” she says.

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