Conservative Party Hasn't Moved On From 'F*** The Muslims Era' - Baroness Warsi

The first female Muslim member of Cabinet has drawn comparisons between her own party’s attitude to Islamophobia and the Labour party’s to anti-Semitism.

The former chairwoman of the British Conservative Party Baroness Sayeeda Warsi has claimed that her organization has a continuing and deep-rooted culture of Islamophobia which, she claims, it uses for political purposes.

The former Minister of State for Faith and Communities under Prime Minister David Cameron, in an article written for The Guardian Newspaper, has called for the setting up of an independent inquiry into her own party. Since having asked Conservative back-benchers to move the Conservatives on from the era of "F*** the Muslims," Baroness Warsi has branded the party's handling of the issue as "woefully inept."

The leading Tory member of the House of Lords made particular reference to the 2016 London mayoral election, in which she condemned the behavior of the Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith, who she said used, "blatantly, deliberately Islamophobic" rhetoric.

Thanks David — we all have a duty to call out bigotry wherever and whenever it rears it’s ugly head https://t.co/taRzdOTbCX

— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) July 4, 2018

“Islamophobia is indulged in the @Conservatives Party”
Strong words from @BMSDemocracy @y_alibhai
The calls for an inquiry are now being made across a spectrum of British Muslim communities. This issue is not going away- how long will my Party drag their feet? 🤦🏽‍♀️ https://t.co/yJzluQHV1m

 

— Sayeeda Warsi (@SayeedaWarsi) June 29, 2018

.@DavidLammy Sayeeda and others are unlikely to succeed till few with a muslim name are in the forefront to shield Tory party — same old colonial story

— Husain Akhtar (@husain_akhtar) July 4, 2018

​​Drawing a comparison with the recent anti-Semitism scandal in the Labour Party, Baroness Warsi called upon her Conservative colleagues not to try and disguise the extent of the problem with "fig-leaf" solutions as she accused the opposition of having done.

"Words without action are at best flannel and at worst represent simple contempt. So it's time for my party to set out its stall. Not only does justice need to be done, it needs to be seen to be done. There should be a forensic, wide-ranging and transparent inquiry into Islamophobia in the party. The process should be published, those who are found wanting should be publicly named and membership withdrawn," she insisted in her article.