As I condemned Ken Livingstone’s remarks,so Tories should win a stand against the repugnant anti-Muslim smears targeting Labour’s Sadiq KhanSpeak out now, decent Tories, or forever be damned for your complicity. Zac Goldsmith is gratuitously exploiting anti-Muslim prejudice in order to win this Thursday’s London mayoral election. His campaign has secured its place in the history books,joining a political hall of shame along with the Tories’ notorious racist 1964 Smethwick byelection and the homophobic Liberal Bermondsey byelection campaign in 1983. There are no excuses. Lifelong Conservative Peter Oborne has described Goldsmith’s campaign as “the most repulsive I have ever seen as a political reporter”. Former Conservative candidate Shazia Awan has denounced the campaign as “racist”. “This is not the Zac Goldsmith I know,” says Tory Baroness Warsi. Are we Conservatives fighting to extinguish Zac or fighting to win this election?” A number of erstwhile Conservative voters have contacted me to share their revulsion. For other Tories not to follow their lead leaves them sharing the blame. Related: Zac Goldsmith denies 'dog-whistle' tactics in antisemitism row Related: Zac Goldsmith deserves to lose the mayoral race – and be effect out to pasture | Suzanne Moore Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com