Tory MP's divisive Eid letter draws flak

An Eid message by a Conservative MP addressing the British Pakistani voters to vote for him over an Asian-origin Labour candidate has kicked up a political storm.

In his public letter, Marco Longhi, who is seeking re-election in Dudley North, underscored how he has spoken against India's "atrocities" towards the people of Kashmir.

The letter asked if Labour’s “Sonia KUMAR” would speak up for Kashmir in Parliament. Her surname was written in capital letters and underlined in the letter.

Longhi warns that with the re-election of Narendra Modi as India's prime minister, things will become tougher in Kashmir and he will continue to raise his voice for Kashmiris.

Labour Party Chair Anneliese Dodds called the letter a 'dog whistle' and wanted Rishi Sunak to take immediate action. "If he fails to do so, it will show his promise of professionalism, and accountability to be a hollow sham."

Rajesh Agrawal, Labour’s candidate for Leicester East, wrote on X: “This is a shameful attempt to divide the area that Longhi claims to represent, and is offensive to both Muslim and Hindu communities. There should be zero tolerance of the dog-whistle politics Longhi is engaged in. Rishi Sunak should immediately remove Conservative Party support for Longhi’s campaign and apologise for attempting to alienate British Hindus.”

Lord Austin, who used to represent the constituency, said: “This is completely unacceptable. When I was the MP for Dudley, I worked hard to fight racism and sectarian politics and to bring local people together. The people of Dudley are much better than this and I hope they reject this candidate and his nasty divisive politics.”

British Future director Sunder Katwala said a representative in parliament ought to represent constituents of different ethnic and faith backgrounds. He said the letter was written in a brazenly prejudiced manner.