Letter to the Prime Minister: Engagement with Muslim communities

Dear Prime Minister,

On behalf of the Community Policy Forum, I would like to extend our congratulations on your election as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Your leadership has the potential for a new chapter for our nation centred on positive change for the benefit of the most vulnerable in society. 

As a think-tank specialising in the structural inequalities facing Muslim communities in the UK, we are keen to work collaboratively with your government to address several pressing issues that significantly impact British Muslims. Our latest report, Muslim Voices, Election Choices, draws on two years of research with Muslim communities across the country to provide a comprehensive overview of these issues and tangible recommendations to address them. We believe that your engagement with these recommendations would be a positive indication of your commitment to representing the interests of Muslim and other minority communities.

Given the Labour Party appears to have lost considerable support among Muslim voters, it is particularly important for your government to work diligently to rebuild trust with Muslim communities. Although you have won a resounding majority in the House of Commons, the Labour vote share declined significantly in constituencies with large Muslim populations. Three Labour MPs that served in the previous Parliament (Jonathan Ashworth, Kate Hollern, and Khalid Mahmood) were unseated by Independent candidates in Leicester South, Blackburn, and Birmingham Perry Barr, respectively, while an Independent defeated the Labour candidate in Dewsbury and Batley. As such, we would welcome the opportunity to support you in restoring Muslim communities’ confidence in your government and in the Labour Party.

As such, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and your team to discuss the issues impacting Muslim communities and how we might support you in reinvigorating the government and the Labour Party’s relationship with Muslim communities. We hope that your leadership presents an opportunity for meaningful progress, and we are eager to contribute to the development of policies that will benefit not only Muslim communities, but the UK as a whole.

Once again, congratulations on your election. We wish you success in your new role and look forward to a positive and productive relationship.

Yours sincerely,

Community Policy Forum