CONSERVATIVE PARTY INQUIRY ON ALL FORMS OF RACISM INCLUDING ISLAMOPHOBIA HOPE NOT HATE SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE CONSERVATIVE PARTY INQUIRY ON ALL FORMS OF RACISM INCLUDING ISLAMOPHOBIA HOPE NOT HATE SUBMISSION OF EVIDENCE SUBMISSION TO THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY INQUIRY ON ALL FORMS OF RACISM INCLUDING ISLAMOPHOBIA INTRODUCTION HOPE not hate is Britain’s leading anti- The submission will cover: fascist organisation, challenging hatred and n An analysis of the Conservative leveraging hope. Whilst the organisation Party’s disciplinary processes and mainly focuses on defeating the far right at how improvements to those would the ballot box, on the streets and online, improve the procedural issue, and HOPE not hate recognises the need to aid the attempts to fix the cultural issue tackle the root causes of this hatred. of Islamophobia and anti- In recent years, HOPE not hate has Muslim prejudice within the tracked, highlighted and campaigned Conservative Party. against the poison of hatred impacting on n the mainstream, particularly in debates A report on polling conducted of on immigration. This is also true for the Conservative members, showing the growing threat of hate encroaching in, and widespread nature of negative attitudes emanating out of mainstream political towards Muslims and parties in the UK, bringing differing forms other discriminatory views. of hatred to millions. n Case studies of Conservative councillors, To this end, HOPE not hate has MPs and activists who have been produced the following submission subject to complaints but either faced to the Conservative Party Inquiry into no disciplinary action or were allowed Islamophobia and all forms of racism. back in after a short suspension. Conservative 57% members who This lot should be rounded up had a negative attitude towards Muslims, with 21% registering a very negative attitude. and put on a boat home Comment posted by Conservative Party Conservative member, April 2019 66% Party members who voted for Boris Johnson in the leadership election they [Muslims] are simply and believe that “there are no go areas in Britain where outbreeding us and within 30 years Sharia law dominates and non- Muslims cannot enter”. this will be a Muslim led country YouGov poll of 1,213 Conservative with sharia laws Party members, July 2020 Comment posted by Conservative Party member, Twitter September 2020 | 3 HOPE NOT HATE A DISCIPLINARY PROCESS FIT FOR 2020 HOPE NOT HATE believes that the in the age of social media, and with increased disciplinary processes of the Conservative participation from Party members in the Party1 are failing to deal with, and Conservative Party, it is no longer relevant to remedy, discriminatory behaviour towards hold a distinction between Conservative Party representatives and members. numerous Muslims members. It is time for the Conservative Party to adopt a fully independent disciplinary process, Independence of the Ethics & free from any control from the Party Integrity Committee leadership. Thirdly, whilst the Ethics and Integrity Committee has two independent members That is not to suggest that having and enacting in the form of two Queen’s counsel, the clear and transparent disciplinary processes Committee is still subordinate to the Party is easy, especially due to the constraints on leadership by the inclusion of two senior capacity. However, it is incumbent upon the Conservative representatives. This allows the Conservative Party to show their willingness process to be interfered with by conflicts of to attempt to improve their processes in good interest by senior Party officials who can apply faith and allocate adequate investment to solve pressure to manage the process to elicit the the issue. result deemed best for the Party image. While the Conservative Party has a clear and detailed Code of Conduct on the party’s Definition of ‘Disrepute’ website for Party representatives and a similar version for all members in Part XII of the Moreover, the Constitution of the Conservative Constitution of the Conservative Party2, this Party has only one rule for members to process is flawed for a number of reasons. break; bringing the Conservative Party into disrepute. The term ‘bringing the party Role of the Party Chairman into disrepute’ is vague and not sufficient to adequately ensure a political party can Firstly, modern disciplinary processes in remove racists, homophobes and misogynists political parties for party representatives from their ranks. The term is loose enough should not be ultimately controlled, and that the Committee can deem pretty much decided by, the Party Chairman. any political opponent to the leadership as This allows for what could be a rigorous ‘bringing the party into disrepute’ whilst process to be interfered with by political absolving responsibility from those who would influence, convenience and bias. The Party be politically inconvenient to discipline. Chairman is undoubtedly likely to have conflicts of interest that play a factor in the The Code of Conduct for Party representatives severity of the punishment given for those goes into greater detail on how a representative found guilty and on the length of time it takes can fall foul of the code by bullying, for an investigation to be completed. abusing, victimising, harassing or unlawfully discriminating against others. This should be Who is a Party representative? replicated for the Party’s constitution if the Conservative Party wants to make clear that it Any incident of Islamophobia or other doesn’t want racists as members. discriminatory behaviour does not belong in the Conservative Party. Every member of the Finally, whilst the importance of due process Party should be held to the same standard and and anonymity for complainants is paramount, have a singular disciplinary process that they the opaque process of suspensions and other are subject to. This is particularly true to say results of disciplinary processes currently adds 4 | September 2020 SUBMISSION TO THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY INQUIRY ON ALL FORMS OF RACISM INCLUDING ISLAMOPHOBIA to the view that the Conservative Party does have a systemic issue with Islamophobia. HOPE NOT HATE CALLS FOR: As the case studies in the second section of this report outline, on multiple occasions the n An independent complaints and Conservative Party has either taken no action disciplinary procedure for the or limited action against members who fall foul of the standards that should be expected Conservative Party. of a member of the Conservative Party. n An open and transparent system When limited action is taken, such as a short suspension, our case studies outline for suspending members subject numerous examples of members who have to investigations, ensuring a due committed similar offences after their process and support and clarity for suspension was lifted. complainants. It is also clear from the evidence collated that the complaints and disciplinary process n A programme of training for is subject to flexibility if there is media interest members on Islamophobia, anti- in the case. The system cannot be seen to Muslim prejudice and understanding deliver on the Conservative Party’s duty to act fairly if it investigates cases quicker, more British Muslims. This programme thoroughly and delivers harsher punishments should include opportunities for if the case is brought to the attention of the all members to learn, compulsory media than other complaints made. training for MPs and other leaders Thus it is the contention of HOPE not hate that and a system for requiring those there must be a review into the disciplinary disciplined to partake in it. processes of the Conservative Party and a full independent investigation into their n The leadership of the Conservative effectiveness at preventing discrimination. Party to make greater efforts to promote a more positive image of Muslims to members and the wider public and call out anti-Muslim prejudice wherever it is found. HOPE NOT HATE’S OFFER: HOPE not hate wants to support those that wish to address the procedural and cultural issues of Islamophobia within the Conservative Party. We want to meet with senior figures in the Conservative Party to offer our support to identify those members expressing anti-Muslim and other extremist views and develop initiatives to address the wider concern of anti-Muslim attitudes amongst the membership. September 2020 | 5 HOPE NOT HATE THE CULTURAL PROBLEM OF ISLAMOPHOBIA IN THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY THE CULTURAL PROBLEM OF ISLAMOPHOBIA IN THE Do you think Islam is generally CONSERVATIVE PARTY compatible with the British way of There continues to be widespread suspicion, life or generally a threat to the prejudice and hostility towards Muslims British way of life? amongst Conservative Party members and an almost total denial that the party has an Prefer not to say 1% Generally Islamophobia problem, according to a poll of a threat 1,213 party members carried out by YouGov Don’t know for HOPE not hate between 13th-16th July 5% 2020. The poll was conducted by the widely Neither respected YouGov firm, set up by Conservative MP Nadim Zahawi in 2000, whose polling of 20% Conservative Party members is gold standard and has been cited, or praised for their 47% accuracy, by The Times3, The Telegraph4 and Conservative Home5. 27% CONSERVATIVE ATTITUDES TOWARDS MUSLIMS AND ISLAM Generally This poll found that 57% of Conservative compatible Party members had a negative attitude towards Muslims (rating 50 or below) when asked to rate their feeling towards religious minorities on a scale of 0 - 100 (with 0 being most negative and 100 most positive). 21% of Do you think the following is true members registered a very negative attitude or untrue? There are no go areas in (rating 20 or below). This compared with only Britain where Sharia law dominates 3% that registered very negative attitudes and non-Muslims cannot enter towards either Jews, Sikhs and Hindus. Almost half of Conservative Party members Don’t (47%) believe that Islam is “a threat to the know British way of life”, while 58% believed that “there are no go areas in Britain where Sharia 10% law dominates and non-Muslims cannot enter”.