UK’s Muslim vote

THE recent local council elections in the United Kingdom were truly momentous as they established that the era of the two-party system in Britain is coming to an end. The anti-immigrant, and some would argue anti-Islam, right-wing Reform Party, led by populist Nigel Farage, has emerged as a winner. The results have created an existential threat to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, may cost him his premiership, and are likely to shape the outcome of the next general elections in 2029. Among other factors, the disenchantment of British Muslims with the Labour Party under Starmer has significantly contributed to its recent electoral breakdown.

The results also highlighted the fractures within the British political landscape, which is rapidly becoming communalised, with loyalties being reconsidered, preferences reassessed, and alliances reshaped on the basis of identity. In this political realignment, British Muslims are also seeking a new political voice through independent politics based on non-alignment to any political party. For decades, a large majority of Muslims remained loyal to the Labour Party for its inclusive, pro-working-class stance. But the rise of the far right in the West has shifted the entire political spectrum, including Labour’s, to the right. For some time, Muslims within the Labour Party had been expressing dissatisfaction with what they considered the apathy of the Labour leadership towards the community’s political concerns. However, the Gaza issue played a major role in driving Muslim voters away from the Labour Party.

In December 2023, ‘the Muslim Vote’ project was launched in Birmingham, not as a party but as a movement supporting independent Muslim candidates, demanding social justice and equality, peace in Palestine, and unity within the Muslim community to act as a single voting bloc. Seven months later, in July 2024, four independent Muslim MPs were elected on what some termed the ‘Gaza ticket’. Similarly, in the recent local council elections, dozens of candidates ran as independents under small local alliances from Muslim-majority areas in Birmingham, London, Blackburn, Dewsbury and Batley, and were elected.

Although this realignment of the Muslim vote is just one aspect of the fragmentation of British politics, it is framed by right-wing commentators, the media and politicians as ‘sectarian politics’ and the ‘Islamopopulism movement’, and as a major threat to democracy in the UK. It is also portrayed as a reactive solidarity around a foreign conflict, aimed at the political and cultural takeover of British society. Such narratives, meant for instilling fear of Muslims, have been quite effective within far-right movements across the United States, Europe and the Hindutva movement in India.

British Muslims are seeking a new voice through independent politics.

In reality, political disenchantment among British Muslims is complex and multifaceted. It is partly driven by the Gaza question but also rooted in decades of marginalisation over issues such as housing, austerity, anti-extremism policy and lack of representation. Still, the Muslim population remains politically diverse and cannot be treated as a monolithic group. Many Muslims have been supportive of the left-wing populist Green Party. Some back Jeremy Corbyn’s Your Party, while others remain committed to more centrist politics.

Besides, issue-centric and identity-based politics are not just Muslim-specific. In 2024, 459 candidates from diverse backgrounds ran as independent candidates in the general elections, representing various political causes. So, singling out British Muslims and accusing them of sectarian politics is clearly disingenuous. There is also a history of coordinated and semi-coordinated voting patterns among other diaspora groups, including Irish Catholic, Jewish, Sikh and Hindus. One example is ‘Operation Dharmic Vote’ in the East Midlands city of Leicester during the 2019 elections, where Hindu votes were sought on the Kashmir issue. Similarly, before the 2024 elections, the ‘Hindu Manifesto for the UK’ was launched in response to the concerns and demands of the UK Hindu community.

It may not be the ideal political approach, but in the current political context, many Muslims may see the strategic advantages of pursuing non-aligned, independent politics. In some constituencies, this may determine majorities or sway election outcomes, but its long-term effectiveness and feasibility remain uncertain. Conversely, the selective weaponisation of the approach as ‘sectarian politics’ and ‘Islamopopulism’ may help some short-term political goals of far-right groups, but it will deepen political polarisation and division in the country.

The writer is a former BBC journalist and a PhD candidate at the School of Media and Communication, University of Leeds.

Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2026

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