Vote religion, never mind politics
Last Thursday's election in Birmingham's Handsworth Wood Ward illustrated the way in which religious affiliations continue to be used for ensuring votes over and above any attempt at political debate.
The Conservative Candidate was a Sikh who persuaded three Gurdwara Councils to display his posters and then to press members of the congregation to support him. It worked, since some 2,200 people voted for him as against 1,900 last year when Labour had a Sikh candidate. Labour still managed to win with 2,600 (they polled 3,300 last year) with an African-Caribbean candidate who may well have her church connections to thank. (She is a Deputy Pastor according to The Stirrer).
From their literature I'm not sure what the political agenda of the two candidates was. I as the Socialist Labour candidate raised the issue of the privatisation of public services, which the many people we spoke to on the doorstep also disliked strongly. I received just over 1,000 votes for which I thank them. One person told me that the Labour candidate was an advocate for Blair's academies, which is part of the programme to put schools in the hands of the private sector. This weakens councils' control of public services even more: if you're a councillor it's like turkeys voting for Christmas. I'm told that this candidate has greater ambitions than staying as a lowly councillor. She is after Clare Short's Ladywood seat and then a place in Cabinet as Secretary of State for Health.
Among those pressing for a Conservative victory were individuals who are members of the Labour Party. They stood outside the polling station with a ballot paper on which was written that the councils of the Gurdwaras were supporting the Sikh candidate.
They had a point since as a Labour Councillor the Conservative candidate had succeeded in helping the large Soho Road Gurdwara in securing considerable funding for a state-of-the art community centre. It's President has always made a point that the Gurdwara was built without need of public funds, and indeed its members have gone to Amritsar to help re-gild the Golden Temple.
The Single Regeneration Budget had been intended to help people out of poverty in the region, however our now Tory candidate went to the lengths of acquiring a house in the SRB 6 area to qualify himself as eligible to stand as a member of the board. He did this along with others, including friends and relations, who exploited a known weakness in the voting procedure.
All this is now history, water under the bridge. Since no one will act then the door is wide open to opportunists, gangsters and all comers.
Note: if you doubt whether I'm serious about mixing politics and religion just look here.
Posted by John Tyrrell at May 7, 2007 11:21 AM
Comments
Dear John, we enjoyed an interesting conversation when you came knocking on my door & I respect you very much, but I think calling Arjun Singh a ganster is unfair. The guy is actually a Police Advisor on community affairs, according to the local Inspector.
I'm a life long socialist & for the 1st time I didn't vote, because when he knocked my door, I found myself completely disarmed by Arjun. He was nothing like you described him. This guy has the sexiest brown eyes I have ever seen & a personality that is so sweet you cant help but like him.
He is not a right winger, but a centrist who marched against the Iraq war. I read his past leaflets & he warned the Iraq War would cause home grown terrorism, (then 7/7 happened), he warned that New Labour would ruin the NHS (now we have 22,000 job losses), & he left new Labour on principle, because of the vote rigging & corruption scandals surrounding New Labour.
My neigbhour is a "sevadaar" (religous charity worker) at Soho Rd Gurdwara, & he told me Arjun is considered a Hero within the Sikh community for the way he has dramictally reduced the involvement of Sikh youth in the guns & gangs culture which is currently tearing the black & muslim youth communituies apart. According to the local beat bobbies, It was Arjun who stopped the Sikh gangs from retaliating when the black raleigh street gang ran down copthall rd shooting & stabbing sikh elderly people. My other neighbour is black, who said she would give her right arm to find a black Arjun to sort the black gangs out.
Heres the biggest news, he hardly even campaigned for this election. According to this elderly sevedaar, He only stood at the last minute, after being repeatedly asked by all the six local Gurdwara's, who were frustrated by Paulette Hamiltons & Khalid Mahmoods racism against the Sikhs. He only put out one leaflet, which was still being delivered the day before the election (thats when i received mine), compared to Hamiltons 4 leaflets & your 3 leaflets. Yet he still reduced Labours majority from approx 1400 to approx 400. The year before he reduced it from approx 2500 to 1400. Imagine what he could do if he ever decided to campaign for a couple months instead of a couple weeks.
I didn't vote for him this year but i couldn't bring myself to vote against him either. Instead of lambasting him and cementing him with the tories, why dont you try to bring him back to the left. Imagaine how powerful a tyrell-singh partnership could be. We could then finally get rid of this discredited new Labour lot.
The only hope Atwal has of winning next year, is if Arjun does not stand, as my sevadaar neighbour has told me, the Sikhs are absolutely livid with Atwal for opening a new fundamentalist Mosque on Hamstead Hill, in order to secure muslim votes which have either gone to to you or the Lib Dems in the past.
Maybe you need to do some more digging?
Blogged by Dr Kaur at May 11, 2007 10:38 AM
Dr Kaur? Arjun Singh more like. I've never heard so many lies in a single post than Arjun has written above. The previous Chairman of The Council of Sikh Gurdwara's opening a fundamentalist mosque????? Who exactly do you think you are kidding Arjun? You made some gains as the only sikh candidate who stood this time, but as a political entity you are - much as your leader is - an opportunist who will do and say whatever it takes to get into power, truth is irrelevance. I was on Copthall Rd at the time of the riots and Arjun was nowhere to be seen before, during or after any of the events. He's no hero in the Sikh community, on the contrary he's known as a dishonest man. He had nothing to with securing funding for anything, least of all the Soho Rd gurudwara which is larger and more powerful than he could ever hope to be. They need annoying and corrupt little runts like Arjun like a hole in the head. The Labour party missed a trick in not selecting a candidate using the proper procedures and overriding the wishes of the local party. Arjun was in the right place at the right time, and wearing the right turban.
As for stopping gangs - well perhaps he ought to apply to the leader of the Council for a glowing red phone and a fireman's pole so that they can call upon him next time something like this happens.
Oh and by the way, as for his sexy (sic) brown eyes? Well there's something else brown I can think of which is a more relevant comparison, and seeing as Arjun is a first class bullshitter - perhaps a more fitting one too.
Blogged by Sherlock Holmes at May 13, 2007 5:43 PM
Sherlock Holmes? LOL
So who are you really? Atwals son, son in law,or nephew ?
Obviously your someone related to Gurdial Atwal, as you made such a big deal of the Mosque comments and not anything else?
There is no way that mosque could have been opened virtually next door to Atwals house, without it going to planning committee for decision, unless Atwal, and Khalid Mahmood found some sort of loop hole.
Its common knowledge in the community that all the local gurdwaras, especially soho rd, rookery rd, and holyhead rd, support and love Arjun. My onw neighbours roll out the red carpet whenever he visits. Tyrells been blogging about it for years so who are you trying to convince otherwise. Are you jealous because because your man Atwal is not as popular?
I just hope Arjun stands against Atwal next year, thats going to be interesting?
P.S.
If you dont believe how sexy he is, don't take my word for it, why dont you ask your own sisters, and wives, etc. Its the women who vote for him the most!
Get a life, son/nephew of Gurdial Atwal or whatever! I dont have to prove a thing to you.
Blogged by dr.kaur@hotmail.co.uk at May 23, 2007 2:44 PM
