Azhar Ali (left) and Sir Keir Starmer
Conservatives have called Sir Keir Starmer a «moral vacuum» after his U-turn about supporting a candidate for Labour's Rochdale by-election.
Labour withdrew its support for Azhar Ali on Monday night and suspended him from the party after he was embroiled in a row over anti-Semitism.
< p>Sir Keir initially backed Mr Ali despite growing protests from Jewish community leaders and within his own party after the parliamentary candidate said Israel had deliberately allowed Hamas to kill its citizens on October 7 to give the green light for bombings But the Labor leader was forced to do a U-turn after the Daily Mail reported that Mr Ali had accused «people in the media from certain Jewish circles» of criticizing the pro-Palestinian politician and said, that Israel plans to «get rid of [the Palestinians] from Gaza.»
Richard Holden, chairman of the Conservative Party, said Sir Keir had known about his candidate's views «for days», adding: «Who knows how long other people in the Labor Party knew about this racist anti-Semitism and kept silent, or because they [think] the same way, or did not dare to speak out?
“Starmer is a moral vacuum, acting not out of principle, but solely under pressure. Sir Keir failed to change his party, in fact he defended a racist, hoping the outrage would die down, and only acted when he had no choice.»
It is too late for Labor to replace Mr Ali at the polls. ballot for the February 29 by-election as nominations have now closed and the official opposition party no longer has a candidate.
Labour did not put forward any of its leaders during the Tuesday morning broadcast, leaving them, would likely have been asked why the party needed further comment to sever ties with Mr Ali.
Lee Rowley, Labour's housing secretary, who appeared at the Conservative breakfast on Tuesday, told Sky News: «Where is Labor today? Are you talking to people like you? They don't. They're going to ground themselves.»
He went on to say that the Labor Party was in «a real mess» over the Rochdale row. Mr Ali's name will appear on the ballot paper alongside the party's name and logo, but his suspension makes it unlikely that he will be allowed to take over the Labor Party if elected.
George Galloway on the ballot
In addition to the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates, George Galloway, a former Labor MP, appears on the Rochdale ballot.
He stands for the Workers' Party in Britain and opposes Labour's position in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has seen Sir Keir Starmer criticized for not demanding an immediate ceasefire and not being forceful enough in his criticism of Israel, which Mr Galloway has been accused of «genocide» on multiple occasions.
Simon Danczuk, who is also a former Labor MP, is standing as a UK Reform Party candidate.
He left Parliament in May 2017 following reports in late 2015 that he allegedly sent lewd messages to a 17-year-old girl.
Mr Danchuk apologized for his “inappropriate” behavior and was found not to have broken the law. However, the Labor Party's national executive committee withdrew its support for him in the June 2017 snap election, in which he came fifth.
Mr Ali, who remained silent on Labour's withdrawal of support for his candidacy and his suspensions have been remanded for further comment.
Earlier this week he “unreservedly apologized to the Jewish community” for his “deeply offensive, ignorant and false” comments, before saying Labor had “changed beyond recognition”. under the leadership of Keir Starmer.»
Свежие комментарии