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Trevor Phillips (ECHR) Suspended from the Labour Party

(57 Posts)
POGS Mon 09-Mar-20 16:09:23

Well this is an odd one.

Trevor Phillips who formerly chaired the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), has been suspended from the Labour Party pending an investigation and could be expelled as a Labour Member as the Labour Party accuses him of Islamophobia.

If ever there was a sane voice and principled advocate for Equality and Human Rights I find hard to find if not Trevor Phillips.

I suppose there will be agreement and disagreement but I do not find any racist or Islamophobic in what he has said.

Gaunt47 Mon 09-Mar-20 16:16:46

Sorry to hear this - admirable man, talked a lot of sense about racism.

Anniebach Mon 09-Mar-20 16:18:29

There was nothing Islamophobic or racist said by Trevor,
he is being used , an announcement that there are demands for an enquiry into Islamophobia in the Tory party and woosh
Jennie Forby suspends him, pity she failed to do the same with
the anti semetic lot in the Labour Party.

kittylester Mon 09-Mar-20 16:51:44

It is really odd, isnt it? Maybe he is too reasonable for the extreme left.

tickingbird Mon 09-Mar-20 16:54:58

Of course he’s too reasonable. He talks a lot of sense. Not something the hard left can handle; it doesn’t suit their agenda. They’re also playing to the muslim vote.

eazybee Mon 09-Mar-20 17:21:15

He strikes me as a man who has learned a great deal through his work, and presents extremely balanced views.
What are the Labour Party thinking of?

Anniebach Mon 09-Mar-20 17:23:35

Thinking - ‘there are more Muslim voters than Jewish voters

growstuff Mon 09-Mar-20 17:40:40

I don't think it's quite so simple as vote counting. I know plenty of Muslims who agree with the kind of views expressed by Trevor Phillips.

Anniebach Mon 09-Mar-20 17:42:00

Jennie Formby obviously doesn’t

growstuff Mon 09-Mar-20 17:45:59

I have no idea what Jennie Formby is thinking. What I do know is that I know Muslims who are fed up of being thought of as terrorists and/or child abusers and make no excuses for people who just happen to believe in the same religion. Most of them also happen to vote Labour.

tickingbird Mon 09-Mar-20 18:33:39

I see Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham, who I have a lot of time for, also thinks it’s terrible and will bring the Labour Party into more disrepute. What on earth has happened to Labour?

Callistemon Mon 09-Mar-20 18:39:43

Well! shock

I have always thought he speaks a lot of common sense.
Obviously those who have suspended him lack that quality

Anniebach Mon 09-Mar-20 18:42:50

Those who suspended him lack much

lemongrove Mon 09-Mar-20 18:48:45

ticking I think we know what has happened to the LP ....
The humourless diktats got worse under Corbyn’s ( lack of )
Leadership, until it reached the dizzy lows of present day.Now all they are interested in is how much time they can spend being disapproving about things and proving how PC they are.
Trevor Phillips always ( still does) talk a lot of common sense.

tickingbird Mon 09-Mar-20 19:30:03

I fear the hard left have a grip on the LP and until such time that grip can be loosened they’ll never regain power.

Iam64 Mon 09-Mar-20 20:33:49

The suspension of Trevor Phillips is shocking but sadly unsurprising given the history of Jenny Formby's actions. I find it impossible not to do a compare and contrast with this, the way Alistair Campbell was banished and the way in which anti semitism within the party was denied, minimised and dismissed.
I've read a number of the allegations against TP but can't find any that confirm he made Islamaphobic comments or has Islamophobic beliefs. He's anti racist, opposes oppression wherever he finds it.
The sooner Jenny Formby and her like go, the better the chance the LP can continue.

Anniebach Mon 09-Mar-20 20:54:18

Trevor wrote to The Guardian last year saying he couldn’t vote
for labour because of the anti semetism.

MerylStreep Mon 09-Mar-20 21:16:11

I can't describe how lived I was this morning on reading this.
One of the true voices of reason left in this country ( together with Nazir Afzel)
I keep thinking it can't get worse for the Labour Party, and then it does.

trisher Mon 09-Mar-20 21:31:24

I actually looked at his statements about Muslims. They are incredibly judgemental. He regards them as "different"and said apparently agrees with Tommy Robinson Asked about his assertion that British Muslims were “becoming a nation within a nation” being adopted by far-right campaigner Tommy Robinson, Mr Phillips replied: “As my grandmother says, just because the devil picks up a tune doesn’t mean it is a bad tune.”
Just because someone has an amazing record it doesn't mean they are infallible.

POGS Mon 09-Mar-20 21:42:24

' Just because someone has an amazing record it doesn't mean they are infallible.'
-

Well that's a fair and good point to make as we have noted that with Corbyn and anti-semitism.

Everybody will have an opinion obviously but there are voices within the Labour Party who are wondering what actually lies behind this allegation, who reported Trevor Phillips and it' s timing.

This suspension story will either die a death or escalate over the coming days. There is always a question of timing and I must admit to feeling there are pointers as to why now.

Eloethan Tue 10-Mar-20 00:16:28

I saw him recently on Question Time and my low opinion of him didn't change. It's easy to make statements that you know will please the majority population and provide a justification for their prejudices.

Many followers of various religions are "different" in the way they conduct their lives. If Muslims are "different"then so, for instance, are Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and the various off-shoots of those religions. Why focus on one group which is already being heavily targeted by some very unpleasant right wing organisations?

Personally, I have very little time for any religion, feeling they are virtually all male-dominated and divisive, but I think it is wrong to continually lump all the members of one religion together and demonise them. I also think I think it is counter-productive because it is likely to create resentment among even those who are more flexible and outward looking in their attitudes and behaviour.

growstuff Tue 10-Mar-20 01:47:05

I agree with you Eloethan. I was prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt because I didn't know what he'd said. However, I looked it up and found out the context and think what he said was inflammatory.

trisher Tue 10-Mar-20 09:48:16

POGS trying to deflect again. Address the issue Is it OK to say Muslims are different and Tommy Robinson is right?

Anniebach Tue 10-Mar-20 10:30:24

What did Tommy Robinson say that Trevor agreed with ?

growstuff Tue 10-Mar-20 10:35:24

trisher No, it's not alright. Definitely not.

However, I tried to look into the context, in which it was said and understand what he was getting at.

The child grooming gangs were operating in a world of their own and got away with it for so long because the law enforcement ages kept them at arm's lengths, partly because they didn't want to spark racial tension.

Phillips wanted to highlight that this approach was wrong. It's given the likes of Tommy Robinson an excuse for his hateful bile. Phillips should have been more careful with his choice of words. I don't believe for one moment he is actually Islamophobic, but he's given people who are another reason to spout bile. He's also smeared all Muslims with the same accusation.