Zarah Sultana says an independent review needs to be held after she said her party was institutionally Islamophobic
A Coventry Labour MP has accused her own party of being institutionally Islamophobic. Zarah Sultana made the claim in an interview after the majority of her Labour colleagues voted against a ceasefire in Gaza in the House of Commons.
The Coventry South MP gave an impassioned speech during the debate and voted for a Scottish National Party amendment, which called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire". But this was not carried, despite more than 50 Labour MPs backing it - and Sir Keir Starmer ordered his party MPs not to support it amid concerns it would allow Hamas to regroup while halting Israel's offensive.
Speaking to Novara Media, the Coventry South representative demanded a review into Islamophobia in her party. It was during a conversion about the Forde report, which found serious discrimination problems within the Labour party.
This included evidence incidents of racism, sexism, antisemitism and islamophobia. She said “nothing serious has been done about these issues”.
Asked about Islamophobia in the party, she told Novara Media: "The Labour Party has a problem and I would go as far as saying it is institutionally racist because this isn’t just my individual experience or the experience of members. It crosses through to the briefings that come out, the kind of language that is used, the policies that we’re willing to say are fine and acceptable.”
She claimed that a Labour whip told MPs that they may lose “7,000 Muslim votes” over Starmer’s position on Gaza but that was "okay" because they will still keep their seat. The local MP, who has a majority of 401, has since taken to X, formerly known as Twitter, to call for an independent review.
She posted to say: "Islamophobia exists in society, including in the Labour Party. If we’re serious about tackling it, we need an independent review on Islamophobia within the Labour Party."
