Lee Anderson’s claim that the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, is controlled by Islamists has thrown the spotlight once again on Islamophobia within the Conservative party. While Anderson has had the whip withdrawn, it is clear that he would have been let off if he had simply apologised. Many of his colleagues were furious that he was even sanctioned; a grassroots Tory petition was set up demanding that the whip be restored as soon as possible, and Anderson says other Tory MPs have told him they believe he spoke the truth.
It’s clear from the events of the past week that Islamophobia and anti-Muslim sentiment run deep in the Conservative party – but new polling from Hope Not Hate, conducted by Opinium earlier this month, illustrates the problem starkly.
A clear majority of 521 Conservative party members (58%) surveyed by Opinium think Islam is a threat to the British way of life, while only 18% believe the two are compatible. Over half think it’s true that “Parts of many European cities are under the control of Sharia Law and are ‘no-go’ zones for non-Muslims”, with only a fifth thinking that statement is false. Twice as many party members have a negative view of Muslims as those who have a positive view.
These statistics are depressing but sadly unsurprising.
For many years, Conservative members and activists have complained of Islamophobia within the party, yet those complaints have been ignored, dismissed and belittled.
In 2020, Hope Not Hate wrote a submission to the Singh inquiry about the level of anti-Muslim prejudice in the Conservative party. We included polling data of Conservative party members, a list of Conservative councillors who had expressed anti-Muslim views, and suggestions about how to improve the party’s internal processes in dealing with racism.
However, the inquiry – launched by Boris Johnson after the former prime minister was put on the spot by Sajid Javid in a TV debate – was, by design, shockingly narrow. It focused on internal processes rather than addressing prejudice itself. As we wrote at the time: “The report fails to recognise the institutional nature of Islamophobia in the party. It ignores the cultural issues amongst grassroots members, & how a number of members are able to make Islamophobic comments, and are aided and abetted by a complaints system not fit for purpose.”
Even the inquiry’s few positive recommendations have been largely ignored and not implemented – to the point that, if anything, our new polling finds that attitudes to Muslims have worsened since then. When we polled Conservative party members in 2020, we found that 47% thought Islam was a threat to the British way of life. Now 58% do.
Four out of five members think that the UK should be prepared to ignore and/or overrule human rights legislation and the European convention on human rights to ensure asylum seekers are sent to Rwanda. And when asked what three words best describe the government’s approach to immigration, 52% describe it as not strong enough, while 41% say it is ineffective and 28% say weak.
The views of Conservative party members are far more extreme than those of the population as a whole. Compared with the 58% of Conservative party members who think Islam is a threat to the British way of life, 30% of the UK public do.
Suella Braverman wrote last week that “the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now”, and the Conservative party has been unable to explain clearly why these comments did not merit suspension but Anderson’s did. Indeed, it won’t describe Anderson’s comments as Islamophobic.
It has been left to a handful of brave Conservatives to call out the prejudice on display and challenge the party’s actions: Sayeeda Warsi, the former MP and Theresa May’s chief of staff Gavin Barwell, the former justice minister Robert Buckland and the former home secretary Sajid Javid.
Feeling the pressure of the threat from Reform UK, and perhaps even inspired by the rise of the radical right across Europe and Trump’s campaign to return as president in the United States, the Conservative party is shifting rapidly to the right. Be it on immigration or climate action, Rishi Sunak is increasingly adopting hardline positions that he, and some more moderate ministers, seem to be privately uneasy about. And with a majority (55%) of party members surveyed supporting Nigel Farage joining the party, with just 23% opposed, and 45% believing that “Globalist elites are encouraging immigration into Europe as part of a plot to weaken European identity”, it’s clear that the shift to the right has not yet reached its conclusion.
Based on the views of Conservative members, it’s clear why Anderson, Braverman et al feel increasingly emboldened to push the boundaries of decency and speak negatively of Muslims, immigrants and multiculturalism more generally. The battle for the soul of Conservative party has begun. And so far, the radical right is winning.
Nick Lowles is chief executive of Hope Not Hate
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