General Election 2017 Pack Key issues and solutions affecting the Muslim Community. British Muslims 1 : An Overview. Summary

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Summary Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election which will be held on 08 June 2017. With the Muslim population constituting some 4.

1 Summary Prime Minister Theresa May has announced a snap general election which will be held on 08 June With the Muslim population constituting some 4.4% of the total UK population, their vote will have a significant impact on the outcome of a number of seats. Here, Bridge Institute has outlined the constituencies where the proportion of British Muslims outnumber the total number of votes won by the current sitting candidate. We also outline the key policy issues concerning British Muslims and provide tangible solutions. This document aims to outline the key policy issues that are prevalent among British Muslims (and others) This document provides policy recommendations which are not necessarily specific to just Muslim people British Muslims 1 : An Overview As of 2011, British Muslims form 4.8% of the population in England and Wales which is 2.71 million people (ONS, 2012) Nearly half of all Muslims are under 25 years of age and 88% aged under 50 (UK Census, 2011) 73% state only national identity is British (MCB, 2015) 64 per cent of Muslims voted Labour, compared to only 25 per cent for Conservative (British Future, 2015) Ethnic composition of British Muslims (2011 Census) in the Guardian 1 It is important to note that the Muslim community is not a heterogenous group and variables such as ethnicity and economic status may influence political beliefs and voting behaviour in different ways.

Prevent Members of the Muslim community worry that, despite government claims its counter-terrorism strategies are designed

faith, the Muslim population has highest proportion of people aged 16 and over who cannot speak English well or at all

With regards to the Muslim community, In June 2016, Tell MAMA reported a 326 per cent rise in incidents last year 70.00% 60.

00% % of women inactive in labour market Pakistani and Bangladeshi women White women All ethnic minority women

still disproportionately under-represented within Russell Group institutions (Bridge Institute, Unpublished) Underemployment

2 Prevent Members of the Muslim community worry that, despite government claims its counter-terrorism strategies are designed to target all forms of extremism, the Prevent strategy actually centres on Muslims Lack of English Language Proficiency By faith, the Muslim population has highest proportion of people aged 16 and over who cannot speak English well or at all (282,136 people, 16% of all Muslims) (DCLG, 2016) Rising Hate Crime Hate crime has increased significantly in recent years. With regards to the Muslim community, In June 2016, Tell MAMA reported a 326 per cent rise in incidents last year 70.00% 60.00% 50.00% 40.00% 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% % of women inactive in labour market Pakistani and Bangladeshi women White women All ethnic minority women Under-Representation in Russell Group Universities While British Muslims are well represented within universities, they are still disproportionately under-represented within Russell Group institutions (Bridge Institute, Unpublished) Underemployment 39% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi graduates were underemployed compared with 25% of their white peers (Equality Challenge Unit, Equality in higher education: statistical report 2015) 28% Of Muslim households occupy social housing

3 Policy Recommendations 1. Increase provision for English language classes Limited or no English language proficiency has been identified as a key barrier to labour market access and success. Bridge Institute therefore reinforces calls for making sufficient funding available for community-based English-language classes. This should be viewed as an investment rather than expenditure loss as English language classes are likely to increase participation in the labour market and therefore stimulate economic activity and participation - subsequently decreasing state dependency as a result of unemployment. 2. Promote responsible journalism Research, including by the University of Cambridge, has found that mainstream media is contributing to an atmosphere of rising hostility toward Muslims in Britain. Press coverage relating to Muslims and Islam in British national newspapers has increased by approximately 270% over the preceding decade, of which 91% has been deemed negative (INSTEAD, 2007). Bridge recommends the following: a. The prominence and weight of corrections/ confessions on newspapers following misleading articles are often unbalanced. Corrections should take up equal space than the initial erroneous print, and appear within the first four pages of said edition b. Bodies such as the Independent Press Standards Organisation should make an annual table readily available to the public, listing newspapers annual number of complaints received and annual number of corrections made c. We call upon government and press regulators to inform and equip people with the necessary knowledge and tools to make valid and informed complaints

4 3. Re-evaluate Prevent Programme and advocate Positive Mixing programmes in schools Bridge Institute recommends a sweeping review of the current Prevent Programme. It is proven that Prevent is predominantly and disproportionately targeting Muslims (NUT, 2016: 67% of referrals Muslim despite making up just 5% of the UK population). This has the capacity to breakdown trust between communities, foster insecurity and propound segregation. One recommendation is for government to re-allocate Prevent funds into funding positive mixing programmes, such as see my school or visit my church initiatives, targeted towards school children of all demographics in order to facilitate mutual understanding and an appreciation for cultural difference. 4. Targeted speaker initiatives, Inspire Just One Programme, for schools in economically deprived areas Bridge Institute recommends that government, spearheaded by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, liaises with leaders from the business sector and education sector to inspire children in economically deprived communities to aspire to achieve. In many instances children are simply not informed about the opportunities that exist or do not have the knowledge of how to pursue their dream careers. We recommend schools and businesses work together and encourage accomplished professionals from an array of professions to speak in classrooms to share knowledge and inspire success. Both schools and businesses should be given targetmetrics for a specific number of speakers each year. 5. Universities should publicly publish demographics of students, including by faith, year on year Bridge Institute recommends that universities are legally required to collect and publish the demographics of their student make-up, including by faith, year on year. This encourages transparency and enables people to more efficiently and fairly access information. FOI requests are time consuming and the everyday person is not informed about how to carry one out. By making information public, universities are, rightly, more open to scrutiny but also commendation when commendation is due.

5 Constituency breakdown by residents of Muslim faith which outnumber majority vote This table is indicative of the potential influence the Muslim vote has on a number of constituencies in the UK. It is purely indicative and should be interpreted as such. What we illustrate is that the Muslim vote has the potential to significantly influence the outcome of a number of constituencies as the total number of Muslim residents outnumber the majority gained by the incumbent MP in the 2015 General Elections. Note 1: Bridge is aware that not all Muslim residents are able to vote (i.e. under age) and certainly do not vote as a single, unified block. Note 2:Bridge is also aware that it is not just Muslim voters who shape the outcome of the general election, but this document is indicative of a certain demographic for your information. ** indicates where residents double the majority vote. For example, in Gower, Byron Davies won by a majority of 27 votes and there are 357 Muslim residents. This makes it statistically likely that able voters outnumber the majority margin. Data source: ONS, Annual Population Survey. Data is derived from 2015 dataset unless marked with (11) indicting derived from Constituency Candidate Party Majority No. of Muslim Residents Gower Byron Davies Conservative ** Derby North Amanda Solloway Conservative 41 6,022** Chester, City Of Chris Matheson Labour 93 1,738** Croydon Central Gavin Barwell Conservative 165 6,065** Ynys Mon Albert Owen Labour Ealing Central & Acton Rupa Huq Lab ,264** Bury North David Nuttall Conservative 378 4,357** Morley & Outwood Andrea Jenkyns Conservative **

6 Halifax Holly Lynch Labour 428 9,210** Brentford & Isleworth Ruth Cadbury Labour ,606** Plymouth Sutton & Devonport Oliver Colvile Conservative 523 3,172** Thurrock Jackie Doyle-Price Conservative 536 3,793 Ilford North Wes Streeting Labour ,327** Cambridge Daniel Zeichner Labour 599 6,042** Newcastle-under-Lyme Paul Farrelly Labour 650 4,363** Brighton Kemptown Simon Kirby Conservative 690 2,190 (11)** Eastbourne Caroline Ansell Conservative 733 2,919** Bolton West Chris Green Conservative 801 3,737** Wolverhampton South West Rob Marris Labour 801 2,613** Enfield North Joan Ryan Labour 1,086 14,367** Bedford Richard Fuller Conservative 1,097 7,091** Hampstead & Kilburn Tulip Siddiq Labour 1,138 18,503** Hove Peter Kyle Labour 1,236 2,910** Dewsbury Paula Sherriff Labour 1,451 25,791** Carshalton & Wallington Tom Brake Lib Dem 1,510 6,153** Peterborough Stewart Jackson Conservative 1,925 13,495** Walsall North David Winnick Labour 1,937 3,468 Westminster North Karen Buck Labour 1,977 29,144** Twickenham Tania Mathias Conservative 2,017 3,225 Harrow West Gareth Thomas Labour 2,208 16,634**

7 Southampton Itchen Royston Smith Conservative 2,316 7,155** Stoke-on-Trent South Rob Flello Labour 2,539 5,696** Wakefield Mary Creagh Labour 2,613 10,263 Eltham Clive Efford Labour 2,693 3,909 Birmingham Edgbaston Gisela Stuart Labour 2,706 12,374** Kingston & Surbiton James Berry Conservative 2,834 11,697** Tooting Sadiq Khan Labour 2,842 12,659** Birmingham Yardley Jess Phillips Labour 3,002 38,079** Keighley Kris Hopkins Conservative 3,053 9,290** Halesowen & Rowley Regis James Morris Conservative 3,082 8,346** Coventry South Jim Cunningham Labour 3,188 9,753** Burnley Julie Cooper Labour 3,244 6,330** Newport West Paul Flynn Labour 3,510 4,301 Hendon Matthew Offord Conservative 3,724 20,610** Northampton South David Mackintosh Conservative 3,793 1,052 Southampton Test Alan Whitehead Labour 3,810 6,101 Sutton & Cheam Paul Scully Conservative 3,921 6,832 Dudley North Ian Austin Labour 4,181 5,175 Bolton North East David Crausby Labour 4,377 13,813** Hyndburn Graham Jones Labour 4,400 8,336** Bermondsey & Old Southwark Neil Coyle Labour 4,489 9,922** Enfield Southgate David Burrowes Conservative 4,753 23,344**

8 Harrow East Bob Blackman Conservative 4,757 15,732** Stoke-on-Trent North Ruth Smeeth Labour 4,836 12,876** Dagenham & Rainham Jon Cruddas Labour 4,980 8,076 Stoke-on-Trent Central Tristram Hunt Labour 5,179 7,860 Portsmouth South Flick Drummond Conservative 5,241 5,360 Colne Valley Jason McCartney Conservative 5,378 5,534 Pendle Andrew Stephenson Conservative 5,453 13,730** Bristol West Thangam Labour 5,673 9,357 Debbonaire Luton South Gavin Shuker Labour 5,711 33,345** Oldham East & Saddleworth Debbie Abrahams Labour 6,002 14,619** Walsall South Valerie Vaz Labour 6,007 24,515** Bradford South Judith Cummins Labour 6,450 12,884 Hammersmith Andy Slaughter Labour 6,518 16,333** Crawley Henry Smith Conservative 6,526 14,562** Nottingham South Lilian Greenwood Labour 6,936 15,881** Bradford East Imran Hussain Labour 7,084 46,937** Leeds North East Fabian Hamilton Labour 7,250 10,833 Slough Fiona Mactaggart Labour 7,336 34,157** Huddersfield Barry Sheerman Labour 7,345 16,441** Kensington Victoria Borwick Conservative 7,361 16,102** Chipping Barnet Theresa Villiers Conservative 7,656 10,581** Glasgow Central Alison Thewliss SNP 7,662 11,879

9 Derby South Margaret Beckett Labour 8,828 17,346 Luton North Kelvin Hopkins Labour 9,504 23,605** Cities Of London & Westminster Mark Field Conservative 9,671 13,559 Brent North Barry Gardiner Labour 10,834 30,293** Bolton South East Yasmin Qureshi Labour 10,928 20,090 Hornsey & Wood Green Catherine West Labour 11,058 12,327 Bradford West Naseem Shah Labour 11,420 52,597** Feltham & Heston Seema Malhotra Labour 11,463 19,374 Preston Mark Hendrick Labour 12,067 14,351 Ealing North Stephen Pound Labour 12,326 29,632 Rochdale Simon Danczuk Labour 12,442 26,679** Blackburn Kate Hollern Labour 12,760 39,792** Sheffield Brightside & Hillsborough Vacant Labour 13,807 17,772 Oldham West & Royton Vacant Labour 14,738 30,040** Birmingham Perry Barr Khalid Mahmood Labour 14,828 28,082 Wycombe Steven Baker Conservative 14,856 17,408 Leyton & Wanstead John Cryer Labour 14,919 24,545 Barking Margaret Hodge Labour 15,272 29,880 Edmonton Kate Osamor Labour 15,419 20,414 Hayes & Harlington John McDonnell Labour 15,700 31,087 Leicester South Jon Ashworth Labour 12,078 40,949 Blackley & Broughton Graham Stringer Labour 16,874 25,790 Poplar & Limehouse Jim Fitzpatrick Labour 16,924 62,530**

10 Holborn & St Pancras Keir Starmer Labour 17,048 22,623 Brent Central Dawn Butler Labour 19,649 35,572** Ilford South Mike Gapes Labour 19,777 60,405** Birmingham Hall Green Roger Godsiff Labour 19,818 49,851** Birmingham Ladywood Shabana Mahmood Labour 21,868 35,072** Walthamstow Stella Creasy Labour 23,195 26,239 Birmingham Hodge Hill Liam Byrne Labour 23, ** Tottenham David Lammy Labour 23,564 32,617 Manchester Gorton Gerald Kaufman Labour 24,079 41,292 Bethnal Green & Bow Rushanara Ali Labour 24,317 63,157** West Ham Lyn Brown Labour 27,986 60,961** East Ham Stephen Timms Labour 34,252 54,329

Power of the Black Vote in 2017

Power of the Black Vote in 2017 Contents 3 Foreword - Simon Woolley 4 The Black Vote 5 How Influential is the Black Vote? 6 Challenge for the parties 8 Where is the Black Vote? Operation Black Vote May