MEND Statement: Revelations of the Forde Report

The recently released independent Forde report has damningly found a significant “racist, sexist and otherwise discriminatory culture” permeating the structures of the Labour Party. Specifically, one such submission to the Forde report stated, “Islamophobia is not treated with the same seriousness within the Labour Party as other forms of racism”.

These revelations of Islamophobia within the Labour Party are consistent with previous allegations of Islamophobia within the Party, including the findings of the Labour Muslim Network (LMN) report in November 2020 and its survey in March 2022, highlighting the prominence of Islamophobia within the Party. In response to the Forde report’s findings of Islamophobia within the Party, the LMN stated, “It is difficult to read this report and reach any other conclusion than there being institutional Islamophobia within the Labour Party”. 

It is now imperative that the Labour Party adopts the recommendations of the LMN, including  “a commitment to equality for Muslims in the fight for anti-racism” and “the development of comprehensive Islamophobia training to be rolled out in conjunction with LMN, the Muslim Council of Britain and other Muslim organisations as appropriate”. The Labour Party has many members who will want to know whether it is serious about tackling Islamophobia. These recommendations would be a good place to start.