Politics: the invisible campaign

By Richard North - May 28, 2024

I was tempted to write a Ukraine piece for today although, if I had, it would have been “more of the same”. Following the incursions in the Kharkiv direction, the front there has stabilised after Ukrainian reinforcements were rushed northwards to plug the gaps.

With the Donbass fronts weakened as a result, the Russians continue to make small, incremental territorial gains, although they have yet to overcome the “jewel in the crown”, Chasiv Yar. There, the Ukrainians seem to be mounting a sacrificial defence, the cost of which can only be guessed at, as Russian aviation resorts to devastating FAB bombardments.

Aside from the complex political situation – which may yield unexpected developments any time soon – the news of the moment is that Russian troops are concentrating over the border from the Sumy Oblast, presumed to be the prelude for the summer offensive.

As it stands, though, numbers are deemed insufficient to mount a major attack and the news of the build-up is two weeks old now, so any idea of a surprise attack in the region is lost, either there or in the neighbouring region of Chernihiv.

Nevertheless, there is a sense that we are on the cusp of great events and, one way or another, we might be approaching another turning point in this dreadful slaughter.

To try and predict what might be going down, however, is unproductive and, in any event, my track record in the prediction department is not good. It seems to me, therefore, that the best counsel is to maintain a watching brief, ready to pick up the thread the moment significant developments are observed

Meanwhile, back in Britian the less deadly (for the moment) battle continues for the control of the nation’s government, with the same pattern continuing. We have the “above the line” publicly-fought campaign, played out in the pages of the media, on the airwaves and televisions, while the real battle for power is fought sub rosa, away from the gaze of the media.

A small example of the nature of that battle came yesterday when independent, Muhammad Ali Islam, announced his candidature for the Bradford West constituency, whence a leaked video had him declare his campaign slogan to be “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, embracing the freedom as an independent to condemn the “genocide” in Gaza.

This creature stands against Labour incumbent Naz Shah who, on 22 May had already announced her intention to stand for re-election in the constituency, setting out what amounted to her election address on Twitter – in Urdu.

With a Muslim population of 59 percent in the constituency – having increased markedly over the last decade (by 32 percent in West Yorkshire) – where a substantial proportion do not speak English, or speak it poorly as a second language, Shah knows exactly on which side her bread is buttered, and where the power in her constituency lies.

She is defending a majority of 27,000, having taken 76.2 percent of the votes cast in 2019 (increasing her share by 11.5 percent, against the national trend where Labour lost 7.9 points), so she should under normal circumstances be safe from challenge.

But while she broke ranks on the Gaza vote in the Commons and voted for a ceasefire, she remains vulnerable to a Muslim Vote challenge and is obviously pandering to her ethnic electorate – to the exclusion of others.

Another illustration of where the power lies came with the leak of another video, this one of Angela Rayner grovelling to an all-male Muslim group in her constituency of Aston-under-Lyme – many in traditional clothing – pleading for their indulgence over the Labour (and her own personal) stance on Gaza.

Ashton-under-Lyne city area (which is only part of her constituency) has a Muslim population of 8,500. Rayner’s majority in 2019 was 4,263 so it could be that the Muslims provided her majority. Certainly, she tells the group in the video that the Muslim vote took her “over the line”.

Interestingly, in 2019, the Brexit Party made a relatively strong showing with 3,151 votes. The Tories took 14,281 against Rayner’s 18,544 so, without the intervention of Brexit/Reform, the seat is a Labour marginal.

At the time of his victory in Rochdale, Galloway threatened Rayner with an electoral challenge, claiming that “at least” 15,000 of her constituents supported his point of view’ – promising to put up a candidate up against her.

Good as his word, Galloway has fielded Aroma Hassan for the general election. She could do some serious damage, and even let the Tories in if Reform performs poorly and the Muslim vote switches its allegiance.

While, in public, the mainstream politicians studiously ignore the growing power of the Muslim block vote, one politician on the margins has weighed into the controversy, none other than Nigel Farage.

Speaking on Sky News’ “Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips”, he observed that: “We have a growing number of young people in this country who do not subscribe to British values, [who] in fact loathe much of what we stand for”.

When asked if he was talking about Muslims, Farage responded, “We are… And I’m afraid I found some of the recent surveys saying that 46 percent of British Muslims support Hamas – support a terrorist organisation that is proscribed in this country”.

Despite being relatively anodyne and entirely factual, these remarks triggered a storm of outrage from the wokerati. Plaid Cymru and Momentum, Labour’s grassroots campaign group, described his comments as an example of “outright Islamophobia”.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, leader of Plaid Cymru, said: “Nigel Farage should not be allowed to spout Islamophobia and hatred on our television screens. He is an extremist who has been allowed to corrode our politics for far too long”, adding: “Plaid Cymru reaffirms our commitment to eradicating all forms of Islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, and intolerance. We encourage all parties in this election to campaign on policy and ideas, not on fears and prejudices”.

Lib-Democrat deputy leader, Daisy Cooper MP, said: “This [is] a grubby attempt to divide our communities in a desperate attempt for attention. It’s no surprise Nigel Farage has lost at the ballot box seven times over”. Warming to her theme, she declared: “Rishi Sunak must condemn these divisive comments and rule out Farage rejoining the Conservative party”.

Zara Mohammed, the secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, rather predictably said Farage was doing what he did best, expressing “horribly Islamophobic, racist and hate-filled rhetoric of misinformation”.

None of these critics, not least Trevor Phillips himself, seems to have had memories long enough to appreciate the irony that, in January 2016, Farage’s present interlocutor had spoken at a meeting of the Policy Exchange think tank, to declare that Muslims are “not like us” and we should just accept they will never integrate.

This was reported at the time in the Mail and The Times, on top of which, in the same year, Tony Blair had remarked that many millions of Muslims were “fundamentally incompatible with the modern world” – most of whom seem to have emigrated to the UK.

In the political context, what we are talking about is what Pete describes as “Britian’s new far right”. But, as a political movement, it has not only developed a remarkable cloak of invisibility, it has also suckered the “progressives” into springing to its defence every time it is criticised.

It is said of the Devil that the greatest trick he ever pulled was to convince the world he didn’t exist. If this is the case, it seems that the Muslims have learned their tricks from the master, launching a powerful, self-serving campaign in this election, which the majority of politicians and the bulk of the media refuse to acknowledge even exists.

Day after day, though, while the mainstream politicians distract the media with their own vacuous agendas, the grip of this invisible campaign tightens, as the politicians dance to its tune.