.... the latest statistics split by party preference show that there is a particular tendency for anti-Muslim racists to vote for the Conservative party, over and above others.
While we cannot be certain of the driver, it is noticeable that these sentiments appear at the same time as the Conservative party is being seen to be trying to placate the hard right. Let’s look at one of the statistics – about Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (popularly known as Tommy Robinson), who is described as a far-right Islamophobic extremist by Hope Not Hate.
An unbelievable 42% of Tory voters have a positive view of the way Yaxley-Lennon highlights issues ignored by the media (compared with 18% of Labour voters).
One might have assumed that such a positive view about a widely reviled and hateful figure would not have any place in a modern Conservative party membership.
.... The right way to deal with the monumental weight of evidence would be for the Tories to launch an inquiry into all these accusations in an open, transparent and credible way.
If no action is taken, many more will believe that British Muslims – only 11% of whom appear to have voted Conservative in 2017 – are being ignored as they are electorally insignificant compared to the large numbers of Tory supporters with racist views. [Guardian Cif] Read more
