ALT Screenshot of an article: 'Anti-Muslim hostility is being used as a political tool'. By Mothin Ali Can a brown Muslim in British politics ever expect the same basic respect as a white colleague? More and more, I fear the answer is no. We are living through a climate of hate that has been whipped up by Right‑wing influencers chasing clicks and politicians hunting for scapegoats. In this environment, Muslims in public life become easy targets. We are constantly asked to prove ourselves. To prove our loyalty. To prove we belong. We are othered and scrutinised more than any other community. Yet we are woven into every part of British society. We are teachers, doctors, engineers, cleaners, taxi drivers – and, yes, politicians. We are part of what makes this country work – and what makes it great. So why are our loyalties constantly questioned? Why are we viewed through a lens of suspicion and treated as permanent outsiders?

ALT Article continues: ‘We’re sliding backwards’ It wasn’t always this bad. I was born and raised in Sheffield. My father was a steelworker who worked his way up to become a crane driver. For a Bangladeshi immigrant back then, that was a big deal. Yes, there was racism. But working-class people came together in solidarity. We knew we had far more in common with one another than with the factory-owning bosses. And through the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, we became a less racist country. When living standards rose, people were harder to manipulate – and far less willing to be sold a scapegoat. We are now sliding backwards. The establishment fears working-class solidarity. It threatens the power and wealth of those who benefit from keeping us divided. That is why figures in Reform and the Conservative Party spend so much time stoking culture wars. And why Labour politicians have jumped on the bandwagon – to distract voters from the fact they have failed to deliver the change they promised.