24 February 2024 , 20:39
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We’ve grown accustomed to Tory sleaze and scandal under Rishi Sunak’s weak leadership.
But just when you thought the Conservatives couldn’t sink any further, Lee Anderson – someone the Prime Minister made deputy chairman of his party – lowered the bar again. His disgraceful comments about London Mayor Sadiq Khan were unambiguously Islamophobic, divisive and damaging.
The Prime Minister should have removed the whip as soon as these words left Lee Anderson’s mouth. But it’s clear from their statements that the Conservative Party only acted because Lee Anderson refused to apologise. They still don’t get the significance of what he said.
The idea that he would have remained a Tory MP if he’d just said sorry is appalling. The views Anderson expressed were wrong, full stop. A strong leader would have shown him the door without conditions. But Rishi Sunak isn’t strong. And his weakness means extreme views are taking root in the Conservative Party.
Labour's Anneliese Dodds warned that extreme views are taking root in the Tory Party (Getty Images)Lee Anderson wasn’t the only backbench MP who peddled far right rhetoric on the airwaves last week. And his comments are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Islamophobia in the Conservative Party. Former PM Liz Truss has been spreading dangerous conspiracy theories to a group of far right crackpots in the United States to cover for her own failures. And former Home Secretary Suella Braverman also spouted divisive views about Muslims and their place in British society last week.
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This comes off the back of years of inaction to tackle Islamophobia in the Conservative Party, despite an independent investigation almost three years ago. In the years since, ignorant and offensive views continue to be tolerated by the Tories, who have also failed to adopt a definition of Islamophobia or even use that term.
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The Prime Minister should be doing everything to rid the Conservatives of these radical and dangerous views. Instead, he seems to be tolerating them. That’s why he needs to also remove the whip from Liz Truss for her embarrassing comments about our country on the international stage.
And it’s why Lee Anderson should have no future in the Conservative Party. This is a pattern of behaviour that exposes Rishi Sunak's weakness and his failure to tackle the extremists in his own party.
After 14 years of failure, all the Tories have left is the politics of division. Only Labour can bring people together and get Britain's future back.