Three Muslim Labour MPs – Rushanara Ali, Shabana Mahmood and Khalid Mahmood – have urged Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to resign.
Four others – Yasmin Qureshi, Tulip Siddiq, Imran Hussain and Naz Shah – have shown their support for the embattled leader who is overwhelmingly backed by the Labour Party membership but is opposed by a hostile parliamentary party and the mainstream media.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear where two other Muslim MPs – Rupa Huq (Ealing) and Rosena Allin Khan (Tooting) – stand on the issue.
Anti-Corbyn
Yesterday Bethnal Green and Bow MP Rushanara Ali urged Corbyn to “do the decent thing” and quit as Labour leader.
“If he is the decent man I know him to be, he will do the decent thing and put our communities, our country and our party first,” she said.
Ms Ali said she had backed the vote of no confidence in the embattled Labour leader. With the country in turmoil after the Brexit vote, she added: “The Labour party needs strong leadership to see us through the period ahead, to hold the Government to account and to fight a possible early general election.
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“It is vital we repair the deep divisions in our country and help unite the many different communities, and especially those who feel particularly anxious about their future.”
According to the Birmingham Mail, both Khalid Mahmood (Perry Bar) and Shabana Mahmood supported the vote of no confidence in Jeremy Corbyn.
Shabana Mahmood (Lab Birmingham Ladywood), said: “This is no longer just about which tribe of politics you belong to in the Labour Party. This is about having the basic skills and competency to do the job.
“After the Brexit vote there are going to be hugely complex negotiations and we need someone with the skills to speak up in those negotiations, to insert themselves into them and speak out strongly and clearly across the country – both to those who voted remain and those who voted leave.
“We need to reach out to the Labour heartlands, which are in danger of being lost.”
Pro-Corbyn
Meanwhile, Bolton South East MP Yasmin Qureshi was one of only 40 Labour Members of Parliament to back under-pressure leader Jeremy Corbyn (172 others opposed him).
According to the Bolton News, she said: “For me the position is clear, the Labour Party has a democratically elected leader, voted for less than a year ago by our party members.
“Of course, there are moments throughout a leadership where you disagree and when it comes to it there is an election process in order to challenge that leadership.”
She added: “Until that process is triggered I will continue to support Jeremy and carry on with my duties working for Bolton and opposing this government, as have done in questioning the Tories as they drag their feet tackling the spate of hate crime further driving a wedge through our communities.”
Bradford West MP Naz Shah has not explicitly come out in support of Jeremy Corbyn but has re-tweeted statements to the effect that the Labour party leadership crisis is “regrettable” and “unnecessary,” and that Corbyn is democratically elected.
On his Twitter account Bradford East MP Imran Hussain said: “Jeremy was elected with an overwhelming mandate among the membership, and that must be respected by the shadow cabinet… With Tories divided over the EU, LabouR MPs and shadow ministers must be presenting a united opposition that the public need right now.”
And finally, Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) said on Twitter: “Responsibility for Brexit lies with a negligent government, not Jeremy Corbyn. Now is time for Labour to unite and speak to the public.”
