The news that 14 Conservative members were suspended this week, alongside the reinstatement of Peter Lamb, a Conservative council candidate in Harlow (who then resigned on Tuesday), demonstrates that the party has a significant amount of work to do to counter anti-Muslim hate. Lamb had previously tweeted: “Islam [is] like alcoholism. The first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem.” Yet he was reintroduced into the party to be a council candidate.
Sadly, as the founder and former director of the hate-crime reporting project Tell Mama, I know that views such as these have been picked up and circulated among groups that vehemently dislike Muslims. There has been a steady drip of cases of anti-Muslim bigotry in statements made by party members and councillors. Serving Conservative councillors such as Hashim Bhatti have talked about a deeper problem within the party, and the chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum, Mohammed Amin, said that the party has failed to take action against anti-Muslim bigotry.
Related: The Tories’ response to raging Islamophobia? Turn a blind eye | Miqdaad Versi
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