LONDON: Independent candidate Adnan Hussain who broke a nearly 70-year record by unseating a Labour candidate in the northwestern ex-industrial town of Blackburn has said that Gaza was the issue that catapulted him to the UK parliament after voters saw the first ever livestreamed genocide on media - Israel’s war on Palestine that has killed over 45,000 Palestinians.
The 34-year-old British Pakistani lawyer and political novice defeated Labour's Kate Hollern by just 132 votes - securing 10,518 votes to Hollern's 10,386 votes. Hussain, whose parents are from Gujrat, could have got more votes if this was not for the former British ambassador Craig Murray, who also stood on a pro-Gaza platform for George Galloway's Workers Party, came in third place with 7,105 votes and had the local anti-Gaza war vote split.
Hussain told Geo News: “Our relatives have continued to call us from Pakistan, congratulating us on my win. The calls from the motherland are non-stop. People in Gujrat are proud and should be. Parents are always proud and very supportive. Everybody is extremely happy. I am getting calls on my WhatsApp from Pakistan all the time, mainly from Gujrat.”
Hussain said he didn’t do anything much to win. “The voters saw the first ever livestreamed Gaza genocide on the media and went against the Labour. Truly even if I didn’t campaign, there was anger. I am aware I have won on the back of a genocide.”
Hussain left the Labour Party in April 2020 after seeing the party “didn’t represent the interests of people”.
“I have been voted in because people are unhappy about Gaza but also about local issues. People think the two main parties don’t represent them and don’t serve them. I accept it’s a protest vote. I will continue to put pressure on the govt on behalf of my voters. Poverty is a massive issue too and so is healthcare.”
The 34-year-old solicitor says his life has changed since his elections and he will now have to focus full-time on politics.
Hussain’s grandfather came to the UK around 70 years ago from Kharian in Pakistan and worked hard to educate his father who studied at the Liverpool University. Hussain, his brother and sister are all university graduates.
Labour had managed to get 64.9% of the vote for Labour in 2019, but the party's early support for Israel’s war on Gaza was seen as a key driver for it losing the Muslim vote, who make up 35% of the local electorate. In dozens of constituencies, Labour’s vote collapsed where Muslims formed significant voting share over the issue of Gaza.
