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May 02, 2005
Can Yasmin Win?
Yasmin Qureshi is the ZNL candidate in Brent East. It should be a safe ZNL seat; they had over 63% of the vote last time, but Brent East is unusual in that the last MP there won at a recent by-election. That time it was the libdems, winning by around 1100 votes, or 5%, in the person of Sarah Louise Teather. Sarah was one of the youngest MPs ever at less than 30 at the time of election, and indeed was the youngest MP in the last parliament.
Yasmin and Sarah (and Charles)
Now there are often anomalies at by-elections, so in the normal way of things you might expect the seat to revert to ZNL, but Yamin has powerful allies.
The Muslim Association of Britain released the following statement on 12th April: -
Following lengthy deliberations and extensive consultations with various groups and bodies, the Muslim Association of Britain has decided to lend its full support to Yasmin Qureshi the Labour candidate for Brent East seat. We urge our friends and supporters in the constituency to vote for her in next month’s parliamentary elections.
Ms. Qureshi’s record on Human Rights is admirable and her stand against the recently proposed anti-Terrorism Law is one that will surely secure support from the Muslim community and beyond in Brent East. She is a conscientious Muslim who understands and is fully capable of articulating the needs and concerns of the Muslim community.
Among the many factors that led MAB to make this decision was Yasmin Qureshi’s stand on the War in Iraq and her demand for the immediate withdrawal of British troops, as well as her unwavering support for the Palestinian people and her continuous demand for the end of the occupation and the full ‘right to return’ for all Palestinian refugees.
We also strongly welcome Ms Qureshi’s firm backing for proposals to outlaw incitement to religious hatred.
As a member of parliament, Yasmin Qureshi would be a great asset not only to her local constituency but to the wider British society. For these reasons the MAB gives her its unreserved backing and support and we believe she in a good position to win this seat at the coming election.
MAB campaigns on things you might expect such as
but also on things you might not expect such as
On top of that Yasmin has the support of Ken Livingstone (London's mad left leaning Mayor). Pearls of wisdom from Ken: -
Anybody who enjoys being in the House of Commons probably needs psychiatric help.
and
What a squalid and irresponsible little profession it is. Nothing prepares you for how bad Fleet Street really is until it craps on you from a great height.
and
World wide capitalism kills more people everyday then Hitler did. And he was crazy.
Yamin is a lawyer, and hence good at arguing that although a vote for her is a vote for Toni, that does NOT mean she supports the Iraq adventure.
Sarah is also a clever lady having studied Pharmacology at St. John's, Cambridge, and until recently was a member of the London Symphony Chorus.
All in all a most interesting contest, even if it has little to say about the overall state of the parties in the rest of the country.
Good luck to both of you!
Political Betting Balance of money prediction: ZNL majority of 80 seats.
Posted by Flo Ting Voe Tah at May 2, 2005 12:36 PM