Streeting reveals sectarian crisis paralysing Labour

WES STREETING thought he was drawing a line under his relationship with Peter Mandelson by publishing their WhatsApp messages. Instead, he's accidentally exposed something far more revealing about Labour's current predicament.

- Esther Krakue Daily Express columnist

Buried in the messages is the real story. Streeting frets that he’s “toast” at the next election after losing a supposedly safe ward in Redbridge, warning Mandelson that seats with large Muslim populations are slipping to Gaza-focused independents. In Ilford, he fears, Labour could lose altogether.

Strip away the Westminster drama and what you're left with is an extraordinary admission: Labour now feels electorally hostage to bloc voting driven by religious loyalties and overseas conflicts.

We saw the same thing in the Rochdale by-election, when George Galloway triumphantly declared his victory was “for Gaza”. It’s astonishing that we've reached a point where British elections are being fought on the basis of foreign wars, and that we have British MPs openly worrying they cannot take certain positions because of how a particular voting bloc will react.

Is it really too much to ask that British politics centre on Britain rather than imported sectarian battles?

None of this is harmless symbolism either. The same fear of offending certain communities helped allow the grooming gangs scandal to fester for years. Authorities and politicians hesitated, terrified of being branded racist, and vulnerable young girls paid the price instead.