Editor’s Note:

What happened in Birmingham’s latest election? Labour struggled while independent pro-Gaza candidates thrived, raising questions in the city.

Political commentators initially oversimplified the issues, attributing the success of independents and Workers Party candidates mainly to their stance on Gaza. While Gaza was significant, other critical factors played a role.

In an opinion article by BBC Political Reporter Simon Gilbert, he examines why did Muslims in Birmingham turn away from Labour in the latest UK general elections.

An obvious police presence, chants of ‘shame on you’ and threats to remove members of the public.

This wasn’t a protest. This was supposed to be a standard general election declaration – where the most eye-catching thing you can usually hope to see is a glimpse of a candidate dressed as a bin or wearing a baked bean balaclava.

But it was the rise of a different kind of alternative candidate which caught the eye in Birmingham.

📚 Read Also: British Muslims Voice Discontent with Labour’s Stance on Gaza

On a night Labour was cruising to victory nationally, huge Labour majorities in the second city were being slashed, and even overcome, by independents.

The scenes at the ICC were the culmination of six weeks of campaigning described as “gruesome” by Labour’s Yardley MP Jess Phillips.

There have been complaints to the police and claims of intimidation.

So what happened in Birmingham? Why did Labour struggle here while independent candidates thrived, and why is there so much anger?

Check to read the rest of the article here.