It wasn’t too long ago when the Labour Party candidates during a campaign in Batley and Spen flashed message boards with Boris Johnson and Indian PM Narendra Modi’s photo which said “Don’t risk a Tory MP who is not on your side”. While this incident raised many eyebrows and left many people of Indian origin fuming, the Labour Friends of India had published a clarification condemning this move.
However, Labour Leader Keir Starmer has been tight-lipped about this. While a suitable explanation or apology is expected of him, Johnson has asked Starmer, saying, “May I ask him [Starmer] now to retract this leaflet I have here that was produced by the Labour Party during the Batley and Spen by-election, which was condemned by his own MPs as ‘dog-whistle racism’.” Widely reported in the media, Starmer responded saying, “The Prime Minister is not kidding anyone in this House, he is not kidding the public and he is not even kidding his own MPs.”
This comes after the racial abuse at the Euro2020, wherein Boris stood in the Parliament, defending Priti Patel. “We love and admire the England side and what they did. They represent the best of our country. Nobody defends booing the England side. But what the Home Secretary has been trying to do all her life is not just fight racism, but take practical steps to advance the cause of black and minority ethnic groups, which she has done successfully, notably in the police,” said Johnson, in defence of his Cabinet minister.
