ELECTION GUIDE
MAY 5th 2005
CONSTITUENCY:
Poplar and Canning Town
MUSLIM DEMOGRAPHICS:
| Muslim Population* |
29,573 |
25.4% |
| Muslims of Voting Age |
18,927 |
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2001 ELECTION RESULT:
| Labour |
20,862 |
 |
61% |
| Tory |
6,758 |
 |
20% |
| Lib Dem |
3,795 |
 |
11% |
| Other |
2,693 |
 |
8% |
| Total Turnout |
34,100 |
45% |
| Majority |
14,104 |
|
CANDIDATES:
Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour)
Summary
Jim Fitzpatrick
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LABOUR
Poplar and Canning Town |
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Voting History
War
 Voted for Invasion of Iraq ( Iraq - Declaration of War, 18 Mar 2003)
Voted for Air strikes on Afghanistan (Coalition Against International Terrorism, 1 Nov 2001)
Anti-Terror Laws
Voted for Indefinite detention without charge, without trial (Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill - Clauses 22 to 24 - Indefinite Detention - 21 Nov 2001)
Voted for Renewal of above law (Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001 - Renewal of Part 4 sections 21-23 - 3 Mar 2004)
Voted for Control orders – house arrests (Prevention of Terrorism Bill - Third Reading - 28 Feb 2005)
Muslim Schools
 Voted against Proposed amendment to Education Bill forcing all new state funded religious schools to reserve at least a quarter of places to children from other faiths thereby effectively destroying the religious ethos of the school. This disproportionately targeted the Muslim community as out of around 7000 existing state funded religious schools that would escape this law only 4 were Muslim - all new Muslim schools would be effected.(Education Bill - New Clause 1 6 Feb 2002)
Early Day Motions
Islamophobia
Did not sign EDM on Call for BBC to sack Kilroy-Silk for his racist comments. (EDM 383, 08.01.04)
Halal Meat
Did not sign EDM on Call for the government to work actively to end religious slaughter in the UK (EDM 104, 26.11.03)
Hijab
Did not sign EDM on Call for UK & EU partners to protest France's ban on religious symbols in schools. (EDM 461, 21.01.04)
Israel
Did not sign EDM on Call for suspension of EU-Israel Association Agreement which gives Israel preferential trade terms with the EU. (EDM 1288, 26.05.04)
Did not sign EDM on Call for sanctions against Israel for not complying with the International Court of Justice decision on the illegality of the separation wall.(EDM 162, 24.11.04)
US
Did not sign EDM exposing double standards in US foreign policy regarding terrorism and democracy. (EDM 664, 04.02.05)
Election Survey:
Questionnaire not returned.
If you live in this constituency we request that you email our sample letter to this candidate asking them to respond - its your right to know what your candidate stands for. Failure to respond may be interpreted as a candidates unwilling to clarify his or her real position and a disregard for the concerns of Muslim constituents.
Other Information
Jim Fitzpatrick doesn't appear to have done anything in parliament for Muslims who form more than a quarter of his constituentcy. In fact when we look at his voting record its clear that he must have contempt for his Muslims constituents - he has voted for war both against Iraq and Afghanistan and has voted in favour of all the draconian anti-terror laws which targets Muslims. His EDM record shows that he has refused to condemn illegal Israeli actions.
He ignored the protest against the giant arms fair being held in his constituency, organised by
Defence Systems and Equipment International (DSEi) at the ExCeL exhibition centre, close to Canary Wharf. More than 1,000 arms companies set up shop, and a flotilla of warships was on display on the docks, with thousands of delegates from all over the world attending to buy or sell weapons.[1]
Amazingly on his website he claims to be a member of
Amnesty International, War on Want, Greenpeace and the Co-operative Party! Clearly this is not reflected in his actions as an MP.
[1] 9 Sept 2003, The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/armstrade/story/0,10674,1038619,00.html
Janet Ludlow (Lib-Dem)
Summary
Janet Ludlow
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LIBERAL DEMOCRAT
Poplar and Canning Town |
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Voting History/Early Day Motions
Not Applicable
Election Survey:
Questionnaire not returned.
If you live in this constituency we request that you email our sample letter to this candidate asking them to respond - its your right to know what your candidate stands for. Failure to respond may be interpreted as a candidates unwilling to clarify his or her real position and a disregard for the concerns of Muslim constituents.
Other Information
She is the former Mayor of Tower Hamlets.
Tim Archer (Tory)
Summary
Tim Archer
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CONSERVATIVE
Poplar and Canning Town |
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Voting History/Early Day Motions
Not Applicable
Election Survey:
Questionnaire not returned.
If you live in this constituency we request that you email our sample letter to this candidate asking them to respond - its your right to know what your candidate stands for. Failure to respond may be interpreted as a candidates unwilling to clarify his or her real position and a disregard for the concerns of Muslim constituents.
Other Information
He is a school governor.
In absence of more information a cross was awarded for party policy.
Terry McGrenera (Green)
Summary
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GREEN
Poplar and Canning Town |
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Voting History/Early Day Motions
Not Applicable
Election Survey:
Questionnaire not returned.
If you live in this constituency we request that you email our sample letter to this candidate asking them to respond - its your right to know what your candidate stands for. Failure to respond may be interpreted as a candidates unwilling to clarify his or her real position and a disregard for the concerns of Muslim constituents.
Other Information
No information available.
Oliur Rahman (Respect)
Summary
Oliur Rahman
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RESPECT
Poplar and Canning Town |
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Voting History/Early Day Motions
Not Applicable
Election Survey:
Questionnaire not returned.
If you live in this constituency we request that you email our sample letter to this candidate asking them to respond - its your right to know what your candidate stands for. Failure to respond may be interpreted as a candidates unwilling to clarify his or her real position and a disregard for the concerns of Muslim constituents.
Other Information
Oliur Rahman background is that of a is a
PCS union activist and he was previously a member of the Socialist Alliance (before Respect was born).
Oliur Rahman became Respect's first elected councillor in Britain a shock result in July 2004, pushing Labour into third place in the previously safe Labour seat of St Dunstan's and Stepney Green.[1]
Muslims always expect more from fellow Muslims than they do from others so we feel its our duty to point out that in this case those expectations perhaps should not be raised as there are questions regarding Oliur Rahman's religious credentials. When an interviewer asked him about abortion pointing out that George Galloway was personally against it but that the party had no policy on it, Oliur Rahman replied "I can only give my personal view. If somebody chooses to have an abortion, I would say they should be given the chance. They should be given proper consultation and then, if they still choose to go ahead, it should be entirely up to them". Later in the same interview he admitted that whilst he was a Muslim he was "not very religious".[2]
Also its interesting to note that the Weekly Worker, a communist publication, has advised communists not to give blanket support to Respect suggesting instead that they only support socialist candidates. So whilst Respect candidates Salma Yacoob and Yvonne Ridley as Muslim activists are not to be supported they interestingly encourage communists to vote for Oliur Rahman, refering to him as Comrade Rahman![3]
This is not to suggest that Muslims should not vote for Oliur Rahman, just that they should be aware that they are voting for a Respect candidate - full stop - not a Muslim activist first who happens to also be standing on a Respect platform.
[1] St. Dunstans & Stepney Green ward by-election July 2004 Result:
| Oliur Rahman Respect |
878 |
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31.1% |
+31.1 |
| Jalal Uddin Lib Dem |
754 |
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26.7% |
+11.5 |
| Shah Rahman Lab |
578 |
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20.5% |
-24.4 |
| Alex Story Tory |
444 |
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15.7% |
-14.4 |
| Lynda Miller NF |
172 |
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6.1% |
+6.1 |
[2]
Weekly Worker 534 Thursday June 24 2004, http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/534/rahman.html
[3]
Weekly Worker 569 Thursday March 24 2005
http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/569/respect.htm
Conclusions
With one in every four people being a Muslim there is great potential for change in this constituency especially when we consider that the current occupant of the seat has done nothing for Muslims.
Whilst the 2001 election result may suggest that labour cannot be ousted - they have a 41% lead with the Tory at second place - the St. Dunstans & Stepney Green by-election of 2004 shows that times have changed from 2001. In that by-election the labour vote fell by 24.4% pushing them from first to third place and Respect coming from nowhere achieved victory gaining 31.1% of the vote. This will no doubt encourage Muslims to vote for Respect in the hope of a similar result this time round.
Election Guide Home
* Our figures are conservative reflecting the minimal strength of the Muslim vote:
1. The Muslim population figures are taken from the 2001 census. The religion question was optional and many Muslims did not feel comfortable giving out this information if wasn't a requirement. (This writer knows of two members of his own family who did not answer this question out of fear that one day this data will be used to discriminate against them).
2. Our statistics assume only 64% of the Muslim population is of voting age (18+). This figure is much lower than the national average because the Muslim population is the youngest in the country with 34% under the age of 16 (the national average is 20% under 16). Please note that our estimates are slightly less than those given on the MCB website.
(source http://www.statistics.gov.uk)
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