The problem with minorities: Condescension and Essentialism in the Labour Party

‘Ramadan Mubarak’ read the opening line of the letter ostensibly penned by Julie Hilling - Labour’s candidate for the marginal seat of Bolton West – that dropped through the letterbox some days prior to the recent election. This was a fairly innocuous start to which I had no qualms. Hailing from an Indian background, I have inherited a Muslim surname from my father who ceased to practice and believe sometime in his 20s. This was merely an example of misplaced micro targeting, an ersatz Cambridge Analytica accidentally dispatching religiously charged material to a non-believer.

Taken in isolation this would be entirely understandable, a standard format with interchangeable greetings would curry favour with the reader to no great expense to the party, buttressing the notion of a tolerant, multicultural, Labour. What followed however were not the usual platitudes about the NHS, education and housing, but a detailed explication of Julie’s opposition to Islamophobia and her consistent support for Palestinian statehood throughout her parliamentary career. It quickly became apparent that the whole content of the letter had been written with a Muslim (Indian/Pakistani in this particular area) voter in mind, focusing exclusively on the concerns that purportedly animated the local Islamic community.

Whilst domestic discrimination and the ongoing Arab/Israeli conflict are certainly of interest to members of the Asian community, it is patronizing to believe that it is only ethnoreligious issues that would affect their behavior at the polls. Are they not equally interested and occupied with proposed changes to taxation, the state of the National Health Service and the negotiations to exit the European Union? Instead Labour is guilty of an ‘othering’ that should draw the ire of the specious social progressives who populate the left of the party. A whole community has been reduced to stereotype and the individuals contained wherein deemed incapable of independence of thought and perspicacity of mind. It is essentialism in its most naked (and alone) form – the belief that people are simply mouthpieces for an ethnic ‘groupthink’, mere tools towards a communal end who do not harbor their own thoughts, beliefs and desires. Instead these people are Muslim and they are Asian and are treated as such – not as holistic individuals with innumerable interests and differing political beliefs but as vapid cardboard cutouts, interchangeable with one another.

As it happens the beliefs sketched out in the offending letter are not dissimilar to my own - my umbrage lies not in the policies but in the thrust and intention of the Labour’s campaigning. There is nothing wrong in highlighting matters of policy that would appeal to particular members of the constituency, as long as this message is secondary to one’s main values, principles and vision for the locality and for the country as a whole. Combined with Jeremy Corbyn’s ill-advised claim that only his party ‘can be trusted to unlock the talent of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority people’, minorities are left in an unusual bind – seemingly held back by the Tories but deemed by Labour to lack the intellectual capacity to engage with topics beyond race or religion. It sullies the already sorry state of political debate in this country to act with such condescension towards a group more than capable of grasping the myriad issues at hand. Incidentally the letter does not seem to have made much of a positive impression on local constituents, as incumbent Conservative MP Chris Green retained his seat.

Corbyn's tweet was roundly mocked by Conservative MPs

Then again I have to countenance that I may be wrong and Julie Hilling was merely couching her political philosophy in terms her electorate would understand. I may have grossly exaggerated the problem at hand, unnecessarily slandering an earnest and committed parliamentary candidate. Maybe Corbyn can enlighten me, ensuring to explain everything slowly and deliberately so I can keep up. In the meantime I’ll probably just stick to something I can be trusted with. Speaking of which, the cricket should be back on again soon.