Dear All
If someone is subject to racism, it is a criminal offence, and as such the person has a duty to report this to the Police. A story has popped up that alleges that Anas Sarwar may have been the victim of racism.
Allegedly a Labour councillor said to Anas Sarwar he could not back him in the Scottish party leadership contest because Scotland was not ready for a "brown, Muslim Paki".
In looking at this story as a bystander, I am wondering why I am not reading that Anas Sarwar has been in contact with the Police?
And I am wondering why he has waited so long to make that allegation public since this allegedly happened during the Scottish leadership campaign which he failed to get elected as leader.
Allegedly, another allegation is that a Labour member told the MSP she could not support his leadership bid after she saw a picture of his wife wearing a hijab.
And I am wondering why he has waited so long to make that allegation public?
I didn’t vote for Anas Sarwar during the leadership contest, although I have met him several times in the past, he comes across very well, but he isn’t what the Scottish Labour Party needs as a leader.
Anas Sarwar’s campaign which he looked like the favourite to win was dogged by controversy and disaster, although he tried to present himself as ‘all things to all men’, he couldn’t shake the fact that he was a privately educated millionaire with business interests which he found hard to explain away.
Anas Sarwar’s problem isn’t colour, it isn’t religion, it isn’t his wife wearing a hijab; it’s more simple than that; his problem is his politics.
One thing about the Scottish Labour Party which sums up certain aspects of the party is the quote; ‘there are more snakes in the Labour Party than in an Indiana Jones movie’, as a Labour member, I don’t trust many people, and some people I will never campaign for, not even for money.
What might concern people is the timing of Anas Sarwar making these revelations as he prepares to launch a cross-party group on Islamophobia at the Scottish Parliament. After shouting the odds, it seems that Anas is keen to stress that does not believe he lost due to his ethnic background.
Having made the claims, Scottish Labour has decided to launch an investigation, a spokesperson said:
“What Anas has revealed is completely unacceptable. Labour has a zero tolerance approach to any form of racism and bigotry. This reported behaviour falls well short of what we expect from any member or elected representative of the Labour Party. Labour is taking steps to ensure this issue can be thoroughly investigated, and as part of that the General Secretary is contacting Anas to identify the individual involved and take appropriate action.”
Finally; Anas Sarwar had a disastrous election campaign to attempt to become leader, I wonder if he will have a disastrous complaint as well? When I don’t see a person going to the Police when they alleged racism, I have to ask myself, why, why now go public? If I was Anas Sarwar’s advisor I would have advise him not to go public, because he is launching cross-party group on Islamophobia at the Scottish Parliament.
But the genie is out of that bottle now!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
If someone is subject to racism, it is a criminal offence, and as such the person has a duty to report this to the Police. A story has popped up that alleges that Anas Sarwar may have been the victim of racism.
Allegedly a Labour councillor said to Anas Sarwar he could not back him in the Scottish party leadership contest because Scotland was not ready for a "brown, Muslim Paki".
In looking at this story as a bystander, I am wondering why I am not reading that Anas Sarwar has been in contact with the Police?
And I am wondering why he has waited so long to make that allegation public since this allegedly happened during the Scottish leadership campaign which he failed to get elected as leader.
Allegedly, another allegation is that a Labour member told the MSP she could not support his leadership bid after she saw a picture of his wife wearing a hijab.
And I am wondering why he has waited so long to make that allegation public?
I didn’t vote for Anas Sarwar during the leadership contest, although I have met him several times in the past, he comes across very well, but he isn’t what the Scottish Labour Party needs as a leader.
Anas Sarwar’s campaign which he looked like the favourite to win was dogged by controversy and disaster, although he tried to present himself as ‘all things to all men’, he couldn’t shake the fact that he was a privately educated millionaire with business interests which he found hard to explain away.
Anas Sarwar’s problem isn’t colour, it isn’t religion, it isn’t his wife wearing a hijab; it’s more simple than that; his problem is his politics.
One thing about the Scottish Labour Party which sums up certain aspects of the party is the quote; ‘there are more snakes in the Labour Party than in an Indiana Jones movie’, as a Labour member, I don’t trust many people, and some people I will never campaign for, not even for money.
What might concern people is the timing of Anas Sarwar making these revelations as he prepares to launch a cross-party group on Islamophobia at the Scottish Parliament. After shouting the odds, it seems that Anas is keen to stress that does not believe he lost due to his ethnic background.
Having made the claims, Scottish Labour has decided to launch an investigation, a spokesperson said:
“What Anas has revealed is completely unacceptable. Labour has a zero tolerance approach to any form of racism and bigotry. This reported behaviour falls well short of what we expect from any member or elected representative of the Labour Party. Labour is taking steps to ensure this issue can be thoroughly investigated, and as part of that the General Secretary is contacting Anas to identify the individual involved and take appropriate action.”
Finally; Anas Sarwar had a disastrous election campaign to attempt to become leader, I wonder if he will have a disastrous complaint as well? When I don’t see a person going to the Police when they alleged racism, I have to ask myself, why, why now go public? If I was Anas Sarwar’s advisor I would have advise him not to go public, because he is launching cross-party group on Islamophobia at the Scottish Parliament.
But the genie is out of that bottle now!
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
I still think he's trying to imply he lost to racism, rather than admit that he backed the wrong horse, the old Blairite approach, and failed. The words 'sore loser' spring to mind!
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