I set myself a challenge of doing this year in review in a thousand words. The genocide in Gaza dominates much of British politics today.
Given how Britain is also part of the story of the creation of the state of Israel, the subsequent Nakba, ethnic cleansing of Palestinian villages and towns, and the blank cheque of support that successive British governments have given Israel across foreign and defence policy.
Now many far right activists in the West have used the tragedy of Gaza as a platform for demonising Muslim communities in Europe and pushing Islamophobia. Suella Braverman’s divisive sectarian attacks on the Palestinian solidarity marches represented the very worst of the modern Tory Party.
The Ukraine War remains a tragic situation that has exacerbated tensions in Britian’s left and anti-racist campaign groups as well as Britain’s Muslim communities. I have lost count of the young people I have spoken to who point to the double standards of school assemblies and town halls lit up for Ukraine, the complete cross-party Ukrainian solidarity, compared to attempts to silence Palestinian solidarity on campuses and calls to ban marches against the slaughter in Gaza. They see it as double standards, racism or cowardice from fear of a backlash.
Ukraine campaigners, including an old friend of mine, the economist Michael Green, despair at how some old school Stalinists almost seem to want to appease or ignore Putin’s aggression and brutality. He has a point. Both Ukraine and Gaza are a tragedy.
Keir Starmer’s Labour had the most difficult of starts with the summer race riots. He handled the riots as well as any progressive politician could have, with a strong supporting role from Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood
Rachel Reeves’ budget is a Labour budget, with its focus on wealth redistribution, health and public realm investment. The howls of rage from far-right newspapers prove it’s a Labour budget.
Ed Miliband remains vital in tacking the climate crisis. Let’s hope for all our sakes he manages to last at least four years as Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
The international challenges this government face are some of the most daunting in recent times. From Gaza, Trump and Brexit to Ukraine and Syria, it’s a fiendishly tough set of challenges.
A smart move is obviously to build better relations with Europe – the biggest economic / political no-brainer of recent times, but a move that will face huge challenges from divisive populist forces, far-right tech barons and the media.
Trump’s victory, given his embrace of white supremacy and extremist groups, alarms many in the communities and young people Samosa Media work with. Concerns about division, Islamophobia, racism, extremism, are raised frequently by young people, in the arts and education workshop programmes Samosa Media delivers in campuses and community venues across the UK.
It’s depressing the best we can hope for the next four years from the USA is that this second Trump term is only as bad as his last one.
Given his friends and appointments include Elon Musk, Stephen Miller and Benjamin Netanyahu, it is probably best to prepare for the worse.
In 2025 efforts will be essential to try and defuse the escalating tensions between many in Britain’s Muslim and Jewish communities.
Given the slaughter in Gaza and the horror of the attacks of October 7th this will be challenging, but it is still essential. What used to be fringe extremists now have huge followings on social media, stoking controversy through ever more extreme actions and content.
This applies in the UK both to far right figures and to sectarian, misogynistic Taliban supporters. These voices of hatred and division have a symbiotic relationship, feeding each other and setting the agenda for racist media platforms. Challenging them is a priority for all who want a cohesive healthy society, not one of racial hatred and sectarian tensions.
The situation in Syria is a disaster as it has been for many years, as evil sectarian forces battle for supremacy. Both Assad and the mix of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), Al Qaeda and ISIS opponents that have overthrown him are evil butchers. We want and hope for the best for the people of Syria whilst being under no illusions about the nature of the extremist militias who have just taken power.
Back in Britain, I find the use of the phrase ‘global majority’, which I frequently hear in meetings, events, and on campuses, divisive.
Some see it replacing BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) which I think is wrong. BAME, while not perfect, also encapsulates a story about Britain and the vast social, cultural and economic contributions to building this country made by BAME communities, especially those who came from South Asia and the Caribbean – our shared history of Empire, for better or worse. To give a shared group identity of all non-white people as a ‘global majority’ feels incoherent and a gift that will keep on giving for far-right populists.
Pakistan lurches from crisis to crisis. The worst air quality on earth, Imran Khan’s imprisonment by the military establishment who once nurtured him, whilst the same exhausted political families that have failed for decades, make Alice in Wonderland promises about future progress.
Evidence shows that over a third of the world’s 60 most polluted cities were reported to be in India (19) and Pakistan (3). The Indus and Ganges river basins are under strain, the Kolahoi glaciers in the western Himalaya are shrinking. The climate crisis does not recognise borders, race, religion or caste. Yet the leaderships of both Pakistan and India show zero interest in working together on the climate crisis, despite the region being perhaps the most exposed and at risk from the climate crisis.
To end on an optimistic note, back in Britain I see hope for some levelling-up being delivered by Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner. We have a shared past – both Angela and I worked on Ashton Market in Manchester in our youths. If you want something done, asking someone who grafted on markets to do it is not a bad idea.
Finally a very happy Christmas and best wishes to all (even the racists at GB News) for the New Year.
Anwar Akhtar
Director
