There are a total of 51 members of parliament from black, Asian and minority backgrounds (BAME) which is an increase from 41 following yesterday’s general election.

In total, 31 MPs will sit on the Labour benches out of a total of 261 Labour politicians which represents 11 per cent of the party.

The Conservative ethnic representation stands at six per cent with 19 out of 315 MPs coming from diverse backgrounds.

Layla Moran has become the only Liberal Democrats BAME MP who overturned a Conservative majority of nearly 10,000 to take the Oxford West and Abingdon seat.

The physics teacher is mixed race,  her mother is a Christian Palestinian from Jerusalem, making her among the first British MPs with Arab roots.

Other significant appointments include Preet Gill who is Britain’s first ever female Sikh MP, and Tan Dhesi who represents Slough for Labour becoming the first turban wearing MP.

Sunder Katwala, Director of independent thinktank British Future, said: “The 2017 parliament will be the most diverse ever, with ten new ethnic minority MPs taking the total of non-white parliamentarians to 51.

“Thirty years on, that tells a positive story about integration since the breakthrough election of 1987.

“Most of the new minority MPs will sit on the Labour benches. The Conservatives had hoped to build on progress made under David Cameron and even to edge ahead of Labour on minority representation.

“But instead they are once again left behind, after a disappointing night for Theresa May and a failure to select enough BME candidates.

“After the success of Women2Win in addressing gender balance, there are now calls from within the Tory party for similar structures to ensure a strong supply of minority candidates in the future.”

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The Labour MP joins Labour’s Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi from Slough who has become the first turban wearing Sikh in parliament. Dhesi won a huge majority of 16,998 and described it as a moment of “great pride.”

Gill secured 24,124 votes to hold the seat in Birmingham Edgbaston for Labour with a majority of 6,917.

The seat had previously been held by Gisela Stuart who stepped down when the election was called.

Gill, who said education cuts was one of her top priorities, said: “It’s a real honour to be representing the people and the place where I was born and raised.”

Bhai Amrik Singh, Chair of the Sikh Federation (UK) said: “We are delighted to have the first Sikh woman MP in Birmingham, Edgbaston. She will be a fantastic MP, a credit to the Sikh community and an excellent role model.”

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May called the snap election in April in an attempt to extend her majority and strengthen her position, but her gamble backfired spectacularly after she failed to win enough seats to form a Conservative government.

Sterling sank against the dollar and the euro as investors questioned who was now going to control the Brexit process.

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said May had “lost her bet”, while the timetable for Brexit talks, due to begin in 10 days time, has been thrown into disarray, raising suggestions that it could be extended.

She also faced pressure to quit from inside and outside her party after a troubled campaign overshadowed by two terror attacks, although British media quoted party sources saying she had “no intention” of doing so.

She is expected to give a speech at around 9 am.

After being re-elected with an increased majority in her own seat, May said Britain “needs a period of stability” as it prepares for the complicated process of withdrawing from the European Union.

She said that while the full results had yet to emerge, her party seemed to have won the most seats and “it would be incumbent on us to ensure we have that period of stability”.

But Leftist opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose Labour party surged from 20 points behind, urged May to quit, saying she had “lost votes, lost support and lost confidence”.

Former finance minister George Osborne, who was sacked by May, told ITV News: “Clearly if she’s got a worse result than two years ago and is almost unable to form a government then she I doubt will survive in the long term as Conservative party leader.”

With a handful of seats still to be declared, the Conservatives were predicted to win 318 seats, down from 331 in 2015- yet another upset in a turbulent year since the EU referendum in June 2016.

They were mathematically unable to reach the 326 mark that would give them a majority, meaning they will have to form an informal or formal alliance to push forward their agenda.

Labour is expected to increase its share from 229 to 262 seats, resulting in a hung parliament.

May, a 60-year-old vicar’s daughter, is now facing questions over her judgement in calling the election three years early and risking her party’s slim but stable majority of 17.

“It is exactly the opposite of why she held the election and she then has to go and negotiate Brexit in that weakened position,” said Professor Tony Travers of the London School of Economics.

German EU Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger said: “With a weak negotiating partner, there’s the danger than the negotiations will turn out badly for both sides… I expect more uncertainty now.”

Early newspaper editions reflected the drama, with headlines such as “Britain on a knife edge”, “Mayhem” and “Hanging by a thread”.

In a night that has  redrawn the political landscape once again, the UK Independence Party (UKIP), which won 12.5 percent of the vote two years ago and was a driving force behind the Brexit vote, was all but wiped out, hovering around two percent.

The Scottish National Party of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which has dominated politics north of the border for a decade and called for a new independence vote after Brexit, was tipped to lose around 21 of its 54 seats.

The post Conservatives lose majority, Theresa May faces pressure to resign appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

INDIVIDUALS with suspected extremist views should be subjected to greater vigilance and surveillance, Britain’s former counter extremism minister has said.

Lord Tariq Ahmad, who was the minister in charge of the portfolio in the Home Office between 2015 and 2016, told Eastern Eye that the UK also needed to review weaknesses in the current system after it emerged that at least one of the attackers behind the London Bridge terror attack was known to security services.

The Tory peer expressed concern at the fact that “too often, we are still seeing young minds being radicalized”.

“We’ve got to identify where this is happening, why this is happening and work to eradicate it,” he said.

“We need greater vigilance and surveillance on individuals and we need to look at weaknesses that exist in the current system.

“That means looking at our intelligence, looking at the causes and identifying it at an early
stage, which means having quite candid discussions with people within different parts of society including the Muslim community.”

Last Saturday night’s (3) terrorist attack saw three men in a van driving into pedestrians before they exited the vehicle and stabbed people in and around Borough Market in central London.

It was the third militant Islamist attack in Britain in three months. Khuram Butt, a 27-year-old British national who was born in Pakistan,was known to security agencies and had appeared in a Channel Four TV documentary broadcast last year called The Jihadis Next Door.

Police named Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as the second London Bridge attacker. The third assailant was Youssef Zaghba, 22, who had not been a subject of interest for the police or the MI5.

Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at the scene of the attack by officers within eight
minutes of police receiving the first emergency call. As Eastern Eye went to press on Tuesday (6), seven people had been declared dead and 48 people injured.

Lord Ahmad said current laws on curbing extremism needed to be reviewed. Addressing allegations that more should have been done to monitor Butt, he said: “We can’t arrest people just on the basis of them being reported. They need to be monitored more extensively and more robustly; that’s an area that could be looked at. Before action can be enacted there needs to be a strong evidence base.”

The Conservative politician believes it is the collective responsibility of all citizens and not just Muslims in helping to stamp out evil extremist ideologies.

However, he said the Muslim community also had a role to play in identifying practical solutions.

“When it comes to this issue, it is my faith of Islam which is being tarnished when these acts happen. Unfortunately in most cases, you hear it was someone through a perverse interpretation of a noble faith who has acted in a manner which is completely contrary to that faith.

“So there is also a responsibility on the community itself to help identify practical solutions
that the community can assist the government and security and police agencies with. We cannot turn a blind eye in the hope that someone else will report it, if there is a concern that exists then report it.”

Lord Ahmad said he felt heartened to see Muslims around London this week meeting people
and spreading peace and integration – the true message of Islam.

The post Tory peer urges further surveillance in fight against UK jihadis appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

May called the election in April, when opinion poll ratings for her and her centre-right Conservative party were sky high, presenting herself as the strong leader to take Britain into Brexit talks.

But Islamist attacks in London and Manchester have put her under pressure over her six years as home secretary, while campaign missteps have dented her reputation as a safe pair of hands.

Meanwhile opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, an anti-war campaigner deemed unelectable by a majority of his own MPs, has run an energetic campaign, promising change and an end to austerity.

While May has been touring target seats around the country, delivering slogan-heavy speeches to small groups of hand-picked activists, Corbyn has drawn large crowds to open-air rallies.

Speaking to reporters on her plane during a final burst of campaigning on Wednesday, May insisted she had no regrets about calling the vote three years early.

“I’ve enjoyed the campaign,” she said. “There is a very clear choice for people when they come to vote.”

Asked what would constitute success, the 60-year-old vicar’s daughter said: “I never predict election results.”

Corbyn, a 68-year-old leftwinger who has never held ministerial office and defied the odds to win the Labour leadership two years ago, urged supporters in Glasgow to think big.

“Wouldn’t it be great if on Friday we woke up to… a Labour government that will be a government for all of our communities across the whole of the country,” he said.

It is the third time Britain has gone to the polls in two years, twice for a general election and once for the EU referendum, and voter fatigue appeared to be an issue among the early voters.

“I don’t think it has really been a campaign, we don’t know anything about what they are going to do about Brexit, it’s been pointless really,” said Joe Kerney, 53, at a polling station in Hackney, east London.

“I have little confidence in anybody,” added voter Simon Bolton, 41. “I think we lack quality in terms of who we can choose, it is very limited.”

The election is May’s first since taking office after Britons voted by 52 percent to leave the European Union.

May has accused Corbyn of being unprepared for negotiations set to begin on June 19, and unwilling to curb mass migration — a key driver of the Brexit vote.

But her government’s record on cutting funding for health and education have also featured strongly in the campaign, to the benefit of Labour.

The Conservatives were also damaged by a manifesto plan for elderly care that would see some pay more.

Then came the suicide bombing at a Manchester concert on May 22, which killed 22 people including seven children, followed by Saturday’s knife and van attack in London, which left eight dead.

Campaigning was twice suspended in the aftermath of the attacks, which May blamed on “evil” Islamist ideology.

The Conservatives have always been strong on defence and security, and they have sought to exploit Corbyn’s anti-nuclear stance and his alleged past support for Irish paramilitaries.

But May also faced uncomfortable questions over cuts to police numbers during her time as home secretary, amid accusations that the attackers in Manchester and London Bridge had slipped through the intelligence net.

Security on voting day was reviewed following the London attack, with the city’s Metropolitan Police implementing a “specialist and highly flexible operation” which it said could be deployed as needed.

Polling stations, many located in schools and community centres, opened at 7:00am and will close at 10:00pm, with 49.6 million registered voters electing a total of 650 MPs to parliament.

Overall turnout in the 2015 general election was 66.4 percent.

An exit poll will give an indication of the outcome, although final results will not emerge until early Friday.

As the Conservatives and Labour trade blows, the smaller pro-European Liberal Democrats and the pro-Brexit UK Independence Party (UKIP) have failed to gain much traction.

The post Britons take to the polls in key general election appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

INDIVIDUALS with suspected extremist views should be subjected to greater vigilance and surveillance, Britain’s former counter extremism minister has said.

Lord Tariq Ahmad, who was the minister in charge of the portfolio in the Home Office between 2015 and 2016, told Eastern Eye that the UK also needed to review weaknesses in the current system after it emerged that at least one of the attackers behind the London Bridge terror attack was known to security services.

The Tory peer expressed concern at the fact that “too often, we are still seeing young minds being radicalised”.
“We’ve got to identify where this is happening, why this is happening and work to eradicate it,” he said. “We need greater vigilance and surveillance on individuals and we need to look at weaknesses that exist in the current system.

“That means looking at our intelligence, looking at the causes and identifying it at an early
stage, which means having quite candid discussions with people within different parts of society including the Muslim community.”

Last Saturday night’s (3) terrorist attack saw three men in a van driving into pedestrians before they exited the vehicle and stabbed people in and around Borough Market in central London.
It was the third militant Islamist attack in Britain
in three months.
Khuram Butt, a 27-year-old British national
who was born in Pakistan,was known to security
agencies and had appeared in a Channel Four
TV documentary broadcast last year called The
Jihadis Next Door.
Police named Rachid Redouane, a 30-year-old
who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, as the
second London Bridge attacker. The third assailant
was Youssef Zaghba, 22, who had not been
a subject of interest for the police or the MI5.
Butt, Redouane and Zaghba were shot dead at
the scene of the attack by officers within eight
minutes of police receiving the first emergency
call. As Eastern Eye went to press on Tuesday (6),
seven people had been declared dead and 48
people injured.
Lord Ahmad said current laws on curbing extremism
needed to be reviewed. Addressing allegations
that more should have been
done to monitor Butt, he said: “We
can’t arrest people just on the basis
of them being reported. They need
to be monitored more extensively
and more robustly; that’s an area
that could be looked at. Before action
can be enacted there needs to
be a strong evidence base.”
The Conservative politician believes
it is the collective responsibility
of all citizens and not just
Muslims in helping to stamp out
evil extremist ideologies.
However, he said the Muslim
community also had a role
to play in identifying
practical solutions.
“When it comes
to this issue, it is
my faith of Islam
which is being
tarnished when
these acts happen. Unfortunately in most cases,
you hear it was someone through a perverse interpretation
of a noble faith who has acted in a manner
which is completely contrary to that faith.
“So there is also a responsibility on the community
itself to help identify practical solutions
that the community can assist the government
and security and police agencies with. We cannot
turn a blind eye in the hope that someone else
will report it, if there is a concern that exists then
report it.”
Lord Ahmad said he felt heartened to see Muslims
around London this week meeting people
and spreading peace and integration – the true
message of Islam.

The post Untitled appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

by REENA KUMAR

LABOUR leader Jeremy Corbyn has said he will prioritise tackling race inequality and injustice in British society if he is elected prime minister.

In an exclusive interview with Eastern Eye in Euston on Tuesday (6), just two days before the public were due to go to the polls and cast their votes, Corbyn declared that anti-racist campaigning had been “the story of my life”.

Corbyn said he wanted more funding for the Equalities and Human Rights Commission with a particular focus on race inequality. Labour would also look into making the British workforce more diverse and ensure there was greater representation of ethnic minorities in higher positions.

“There has got to be a specific attention made to race injustice and race inequality in our society. I would make that priority,” he said.

Setting out his plan to deal with the large pay gap experienced by black and Asian workers, Corbyn said he would ensure there were better opportunities for children in pre-school, nursery and primary school education, because of huge disparities of achievement due to lack of funding.

He told Eastern Eye: “We would have much stronger anti-discrimination legislation and we have put out for consideration the idea of blind name applications for jobs. There is evidence that people with Muslim or African names have to apply many more times for jobs than others.

“You challenge employers on the fairness of the (recruitment) process, the law begins to kick in once somebody has been shortlisted for a job. You have to be fairly treated and it has to be a reasonable appointment that takes place.”

The party leader said he would be happy to have conversations with both big and small employers about tackling the issue.

Since prime minister Theresa May called the snap election in April, the gruelling campaign trail has been halted on two occasions following the Manchester Arena suicide bombing which killed 23 adults and children, and last Saturday night’s (3) bloody rampage at London Bridge.

Youssef Zaghba, a 22-year-old Moroccan-Italian, Pakistan-born Khuram Butt, 27, and Rachid Redouane, 30, both from Barking, drove into pedestrians on London Bridge before stabbing people in the bustling Borough Market area.

It was Britain’s third Islamist attack in as many months. On dealing with home-grown radicalisation, Corbyn said extremist ideology had to be challenged.

He wants communities to be supported to root out extremism rather than being alienated through government schemes like Prevent.

Corbyn cited a recent UN report which warned of the dangers the strategy posed in “dividing, stigmatising and alienating” segments of the population. Labour would offer an alternative approach in the fight against extremism,” he said.

“It is crucial that we have a strategy which supports communities to root out extremism, rather than alienating those who are determined to do so. Labour’s review of Prevent will ensure we have a strategy which prevents radicalisation while giving our police and security services the resources they need to keep us safe,” Corbyn said.

Labour pledged to hire an additional 1,000 people to work at GCHQ, Secret Intelligence Service and MI5 to boost the UK’s capabilities against extremism and radicalisation. It also promised to provide 10,000 more police officers on the streets, and reverse the cuts to emergency services.

“Austerity has to stop at the A&E ward and at the police station door. We cannot be protected and cared for on the cheap… If the security services need more resources to keep track of those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them,” Corbyn told Eastern Eye.

The Labour leader also said the party would change Britain’s role abroad. Corbyn highlighted the fact that security professionals had pointed to the connections between wars Britain has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism at home.

He said: “That assessment in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children. Those terrorists will forever be reviled and implacably held to account for their actions. But an informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an effective response that will protect the security of our people, and that fights rather than fuels terrorism.”

“The responsibility and fight against extremism is the responsibility of the government as well as all members of society. Labour will take whatever action is necessary to keep our country safe and to protect our people on our streets, in our towns and cities, and at our borders.”

He added: “You also have to look at ungoverned spaces in other parts of the world like Libya, Iraq and Syria and look at the funding of ISIS (Daesh).”

Corbyn also said that it was essential to look at the sales of arms to Saudi Arabia and terror funding in Gulf states which have fuelled extremist ideology.

The post Jeremy Corbyn outlines vision for tackling race inequality appeared first on Bangladesh Weekly.

A campaigner against acid attacks is urging the government to bring in a licensing system to
clamp down on the sales of sulphuric acid in a bid to prevent further attacks.

Jaf Shah, executive director of Acid survivors Trust International (Asti), which works to end acid violence at a global level, told Eastern Eye he was shocked by the substantial rise in UK incidents.

According to recent figures, there were more than 450 acid attacks in London last year and the number of incidents in the city has more than
doubled since 2014.

Findings from the charity show that the UK has one of the highest number of recorded attacks in the world.

Shah said there were virtually no controls in place to curb sales of the highly dangerous, concentrated sulphuric acid, which can be bought from hardware stores and is often used to burn and seriously disfigure victims.

Household products that may have a diluted form of acid such as drain-cleaner and toilet cleaner are also often used in attacks according to Shah.

He told Eastern Eye: “We’re recommending that the government bring in a licensing system where any licence has to be issued by the Home Office, so anyone interested in purchasing concentrated acid should be making an application to the Home Office providing all the necessary details.

The other measure is to introduce limits to the purchase of acid. You could prevent cash sales and limit them through debit and credit cards so payments can be traced and tracked, which would aid any police investigation.”

Schoolchildren as young as 13 have been reported for using corrosive substances as weapons in Britain.

Shah said part of the reason we were seeing a rise in attacks was possibly related to a greater clampdown and harsher penalties and laws related to dealing with gun and knife crime.

“There are specific offences relating to carrying those weapons and using them and that’s not the case for acid. The fact you can purchase 96 per cent sulphuric acid from a shop without ID or a licence means that as a weapon it is very cheap because it only costs £8 to buy a litre and there are no penalties or charges in terms of carrying this potential weapon.

“The damage an acid attack has on an intended victim is pretty huge, the traumatic effects on a physical and psychological level are very long term.”

The executive director described the crime as a hidden form of violence and added that those who were targeted were often reluctant to report cases to the police due to fears of reprisal attacks.

Speaking about the devastating and long lasting physical and psychological effects of an acid attack, Shah said: “Many survivors end up with permanent scars and many survivors suffer
some form of disability particularly blindness because the face is often targeted.”

“On top of the physical distress and pain, you also have the psychological element– many survivors fall into a deep depression as a result of the attack.

“They have a sense of fear and anxiety, which leads to depression and social isolation so many survivors require psychological counselling and that can run for years because people find it very hard to come to terms with their new appearance.”

A spokesperson for the Home Office said shops have to report children or teenagers
acting suspiciously when they buy acid or strong household cleaners.

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Failure to win the June 8 election with a large majority would weaken May just as formal Brexit talks are due to begin while the loss of her majority in parliament would pitch British politics into turmoil.

In the strongest signal yet that the election is much closer than previously thought, May’s lead has collapsed from 24 points since she surprised both rivals and financial markets on April 18 by calling the election.

A YouGov survey showed May’s lead at a fresh low of 3 percentage points with the opposition Labour party polling 39 percent against the Conservatives’ 42 percent.

There was slightly better news for May from a Panelbase poll which put her party 8 points ahead of Labour, but that still meant the Conservatives’ advantage had almost halved in a week.

Meanwhile a separate YouGov model based on different data estimated the Conservatives would win 317 seats, nine short of an overall majority of 326 seats.

In a hectic campaign which was suspended after a suicide bombing last week, pollsters, who universally got it wrong before the last vote in 2015, have offered a vast range for the result of the election: From May losing her majority to a landslide victory for her Conservatives of more than 100 seats.

“From the pollsters’ point of view this is an experimental election. We all got it wrong in 2015 and we are all trying different methods to get it right this year,” said Anthony Wells, a research director at YouGov.

Betting that she would win a strong majority, May called the snap election to strengthen her position at home as she embarked on complicated Brexit negotiations with 27 other members of the European Union.

But if she fails to beat the 12-seat majority her predecessor David Cameron won in 2015, her electoral gamble will have failed and her authority will be seriously undermined.

If May failed to win an overall majority, she would be forced to strike a deal with another party to continue governing either as a coalition or a minority government.

YouGov said May was still the most favoured choice for prime minister, though her 43 percent rating is the lowest it has ever been. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is on his highest ever rating of 30 percent.

Corbyn, a 68-year-old peace campaigner, has been pulling in big crowds at rallies across the country despite warnings from opponents in his own party that he is leading Labour to the worst defeat in its history.

May was taunted by other party leaders for not attending a televised debate with them. Instead, May sent her home minister, Amber Rudd, who dismissed the leaders as members of a “coalition of chaos”.

The Financial Times said in an editorial that an increased Conservative majority could lead to more hardline Eurosceptics in May’s party.

“Her resolve on Brexit is not in doubt; but her ability to deliver the best deal for Britain in terms of the closest possible relationship with the EU is worryingly unclear,” it said.

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Senior government official Raja Tahir Mumtaz said the incident occurred in the Poonch sector along the Line of Control (LoC), the de-facto border that divides the Himalayan territory.

“These civilians were sleeping in their houses, one of the dead was a 65-year old,” Mumtaz said, adding that four women were among those injured.

Mohammad Ashfaq, a police official in the area, added that several houses were also damaged due to the mortar fire.

Nafees Zakariya, Pakistan’s foreign ministry spokesman, confirmed the deaths in a press briefing in Islamabad and accused India of carrying out unprovoked ceasefire violations.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British colonial rule in 1947. Both claim it in full and have fought two wars over the mountainous region.

India said last week it had destroyed military bunkers being used to harbour militants in Pakistani territory, a claim denied by Islamabad.

It came after New Delhi accused Pakistan of murdering and mutilating Indian soldiers at the border.

Tensions reached dangerous levels again last September, with both sides blaming one another for cross-border raids.

There have since been repeated outbreaks of firing across the LoC, with both sides reporting deaths and injuries including of civilians.

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