MEND commends the Government’s appointment of Shabana Mahmood as the UK’s first Muslim woman home secretary

MEND commends the Government’s appointment of Shabana Mahmood as the UK’s first Muslim woman home secretary.

However, as has often been the case, we hope the choice is neither tokenistic or worse a cynical attempt to cover over the government’s failings towards ethnic minorities, the working classes and causes of Justice like the genocide in Palestine.

We hope her background and stated aim of protecting citizens will mean she will prioritise tackling the rising tide of Islamophobic attacks and their causes in the policies of the far right.

We are concerned that the Labour Party appears to be pandering to the right in its attempt to counter Reform. It must remain true to its historical values of fairness, tolerance and compassion for migrants and asylum seekers. Hatred towards these groups is driving much of the Islamophobia we are witnessing today.