Labour expels three members for campaigning against MP Naz Shah

LONDON/BRADFORD: Britain’s Labour Party has expelled three of its members for supporting a rival to its candidate Naz Shah in this year's General Election in Bradford West.

Naz Shah won the election by a landslide to become the Labour MP for the second time but faced a dirty campaign of prejudice and hate by a group of fellow British-Pakistanis who supported independent candidate Salma Yaqoob. The group had opposed Naz Shah on the basis of gender and and origin.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had urged local voters to support Naz Shah MP, who is now a member of the powerful Home Affairs Select Committee.

The Labour Party held internal investigations for nearly three months and established that former Bradford councilor Faisal Khan, Abid Hussain and Adil Hussain either campaigned openly for Salma Yaqoob or ran campaigns against Naz Shah and attacked her in the most vicious manner.

The Labour headquarters sent three identical letters to its three members stating: “It has been brought to our attention with supporting evidence that you supported a candidate who stood against the Labour Party in the 2017 General Election which is incompatible with membership of the Labour Party.

“You are therefore ineligible to remain a member of the Labour Party and have been removed from the national membership system.”

Faisal Khan told local paper The Telegraph & Argus that he stood by his comments on social media in support of Salma Yaqoob. “I have been expelled from the party but I think it is their loss.”

It is understood that Faisal Khan and Abid Hussain were both on the Labour Party's 'Future Candidates Programme'.

Abid Hussain was expelled for comments made against Naz Shah on Facebook which included: “Do you think Imran Hussain and Salma Yaqoob could make a dream team for the people of Bradford East and West?”

Imran Hussain won election on Labour ticket from Bradford East and was appointed Shadow Justice Minister by the Labour leader.

Abid Hussain said he was taking legal advice against his expulsion.

“The dream team reference was just asking friends’ opinion. I have never actually spoken out in support of Ms Yaqoob," he said.

It is understood from a source that both him and Faisal Khan were on the Party's future candidates programme.

Adil Hussain (Adil Shaan) referred to Naz Shah as a “bad choice” in a Facebook post during the election campaign and was photographed with Salma Yaqoob's supporters.

Urban Echo newspaper quoted a local activist as saying: “This has been going on for a while now and quite frankly we are all sick of it. There are certain members of the Labour Party who have no allegiance to the party whatsoever and are constantly drifting from one party to the other depending on the candidate.”

“I know past councillors as well as active sitting councillors of the Labour party who were secretly campaigning for Salma Yaqoob against Labour in Bradford West but at the same time were also campaigning at the frontline for Labour in Bradford East.”

The paper claimed that the expelled trio was campaigning in Bradford West against Labour in the morning and by afternoon were campaign for Labour in Bradford East for Imran Hussain.

The paper said that the expelled members were “also ardent supporters of the Bradford East Labour MP”. During the election campaign, allegations surfaced suggesting that Imran Hussain and people close to him were backing Salma Yaqoob against Naz Shah but Hussain had denied the allegations. He had said that he follows the Labour Party line and that allegations that he or people close to him were attempting to oust Naz Shah were baseless.