Islamophobia in the British Labour Party
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Issues regarding Islamophobia and anti-Muslim racism within the Labour Party have been the subject of controversy.[1]
In November 2020, the Labour Muslim Network (LMN) published the Islamophobia and the Muslim Experience report into prejudice within the Labour Party, which reported that half of Muslim members said that they did not trust Keir Starmer or the party leadership to address Islamophobia,[2][3] 29% had directly experienced Islamophobia in the party, and that 56% did not believe that the Keir Starmer represented the Muslim community.[3]
In March 2022, the LMN published a follow up report stating that the issues had gotten worse, specifically referencing the hierarchy of racism that had developed in the party.[4][5] The second report found that 59% of Muslim members thought the party's handling of Islamophobia since the first report had been either bad (19%) or very bad (40%), and that 63% of people believed Labour did not represent the Muslim community.[4]
Forde report
The Forde Report was written by lawyer Martin Forde in response to a leaked dossier about the Labour Party's response to the Equality and Human Rights Commission's investigation into the party's handling of antisemitism. Released on 19 July 2022,[6] the report said that the party failed to tackle Islamophobia, which had resulted in staff members leaving the party.[7] The report called for Labour to address concerns about antisemitism and Islamophobia through a "broader ethical anti-racism training programme". In response to the report, the LMN said that the report suggested Labour had "institutional Islamophobia".[8]
The Labour Files
Al Jazeera's Investigative Unit published their 3-part documentary The Labour Files on the inner workings of the Labour Party. The producers claimed it was the 'biggest leak of confidential documents in British political history'.[9] This documentary series gave evidence to allege that reports of Islamophobia were not dealt with, as well as detailing the abuse faced by some Muslim members of the party, including Apsana Begum.[10]