The UK Labour Party is struggling to hold on to vital Muslim votes ahead of a by-election in the seat once held by murdered Member of Parliament Jo Cox.
Despite the party fielding Ms Cox's sister Kim Leadbeater as its candidate, a recent poll put Labour six points behind Boris Johnson's Conservative Party.
Five Muslim groups in the Batley and Spen constituency have written an open letter to Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer warning him the party was taking their “loyalty and votes” for granted.
They called for urgent action to tackle Islamophobia and for the party to speak out against the treatment of Palestinians.
The letter came as former Labour politician George Galloway was using his support of Palestine to gain support in the area for his alternative Workers Party of Britain.
“For over 40 years, Muslim communities throughout the United Kingdom have supported the Labour Party loyally. In Batley and Spen particularly, through different leaders, times and political climates, our community has been among the most steadfast Labour voters anywhere in the country,” the Muslim groups led by Batley and Dewsbury Friends of Al Aqsa said.
“We are now in serious doubt over whether we can continue with our support.
“Unfortunately, it seems that while we have been proud to support the Labour Party, for a long time the Labour Party has not been proud of our support. Put simply, our votes and voices have been taken for granted.
“The issues facing Muslims in our constituency are vast and deep rooted. These include concerns regarding the rising tide of Islamophobia, the racism inherent in the Prevent duty, as well as ongoing international crises in Palestine and Kashmir.
“If we are to continue supporting and fighting for the Labour Party, our expectation is for Labour to be on our side. In particular, to speak and campaign on these issues.”
Despite Mr Johnson's party losing a seat in the South of England
to the Liberal Democrats last week, his party is on course to win in Batley and Spen, which has been held by Labour since 1997.
“The first poll of the Batley and Spen by-election has the Conservatives with a six-point lead over Labour, and on course to win the seat from Labour,” pollsters Survation said.
“In our phone poll, the Conservatives are in the lead on 47 per cent, up 11 per cent from its 2019 general election vote share, and Labour on 41 per cent, similar to its 43 per cent winning share at the general election.
Survation said Mr Galloway’s party was in third place with 6 per cent of the vote.
A Labour source was quoted in a Sunday newspaper claiming the party was “haemorrhaging votes among Muslim voters” due to Mr Starmer’s efforts to combat anti-Semitism within the ranks.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner promised an investigation into the comments after the Labour Muslim Network labelled them as “patently vile” Islamophobia.
She said the comments were "completely unacceptable" and "not condoned or sanctioned in any way by the party".
"The Labour Party clearly has a racism issue," Ghanem Nusiebeh, chairman of Muslims Against Anti-Semitism told The National.
“It has long been accused of deep-rooted anti-Semitism among its supporters and members but that doesn’t mean that Labour is a friendly party to Muslims.
He said the party needed to examine its “racism issues and focus on promoting British values of tolerance, rather than stigmatising whole communities”.
The Muslim Council of Britain said Batley and Spen was one of 15 seats where Muslim voters could have a significant effect and estimated 8,600 would vote next week.
Labour won the Batley and Spen seat in 2019 with a slim majority of 3,525 and with Mr Galloway seeking to entice its voters, the by-election is expected to be closely run.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
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Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
About Krews
Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: January 2019
Number of employees: 10
Sector: Technology/Social media
Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support
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War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
