Four Independent Muslim MPs elected to Parliament on the back of the Muslim vote have teamed up with Jeremy Corbyn to form an independent grouping in Parliament to increase their collective power.
The new “Independent Alliance” Parliamentary group, comprising Shockat Adam, Jeremy Corbyn, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain and Iqbal Mohamed, is now the joint fifth biggest grouping in the Commons with the same parliamentary strength as Reform UK and the DUP.
The aim of the formal arrangement is to give the MPs (who are all left-leaning) greater opportunities to ask questions and hold the government to account on behalf of their constituents.
As a Parliamentary grouping of five they are now more likely to be allocated question and speaking slots by the Speaker on a regular basis, including being added to the rota reserved for smaller parties to ask questions at Prime Minister’s Questions.
The five MPs jointly issued a statement, saying: “We were elected by our constituents to provide hope in a Parliament of despair. Already, this government has scrapped the winter fuel allowance for around 10 million pensioners, voted to keep the two-child benefits cap, and ignored calls to end arms sales to Israel.
“Millions of people are crying out for a real alternative to austerity, inequality and war – and their voices deserve to be heard. As individuals we were voted by our constituents to represent their concerns in Parliament on these matters, and more, and we believe that as a collective group we can carry on doing this with greater effect.
“The more MPs who are prepared to stand up for these principles, the better. Our door is always open to other MPs who believe in a more equal and peaceful world.”
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Since being elected to Parliament in July, the MPs (under the leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, 5Pillars understands) have issued several joint statements on foreign and domestic policy.
As outlined below, the content of these letters (among other things) include urging the UK to halt arms sales to Israel, meet with the Muslim Council of Britain and reverse austerity measures.
