Muslims in rural England consider how to 'vote for Gaza' in UK general election

For British Muslims living in rural England and moved by events in Gaza, casting their vote in the upcoming UK general election feels like dropping a pebble in a blue ocean of conservatism.

The governing Conservative Party has been known as the 'party of the countryside' for centuries due to its advocacy of rural issues, such as farming subsidies, wildlife conservation, and support for the local high streets.

Apathy towards the two main political parties - the right-wing Conservatives and centre-left Labour Party - ahead of the 4 July poll has reached all corners of the country, and one of those is Wiltshire, southwest England, known best for the UNESCO World Heritage site of Stonehenge and 'Wiltshire roasted ham' found in many supermarket sandwiches across the UK.

Less known is that Wiltshire is home to the second-largest Moroccan community in the UK outside London.

The New Arab travelled to Trowbridge to meet some of UK's Muslim community who have forged a small but significant presence in the rural town, and found voters grappling with a range of domestic, social, and international issues.

A small but growing Muslim community

Trowbridge has a population of 37,000 and is the county town of Wiltshire. In 1997, the Moroccan migrant community established the town's first mosque, and it later became twinned with the northeast Moroccan city of Oujda in 2006 - the first town in England to do so.

Today, the Muslim population in the predominantly white and Christian area has slowly grown. According to the most recent 2021 UK census, 0.7 percent of Wiltshire's population identifies as Muslim, up from 0.4 percent in 2011.

It has developed since the 1990s, when Mohammed Miri left Oujda followed in the footsteps of other young Moroccans who had moved to Trowbridge for work, finding a job at an education suppliers warehouse in the rural town.

"We're still a very small minority to be honest," Mohammed told The New Arab, standing alongside his wife Imane at a gathering to celebrate the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, organised by the Wiltshire Islamic Community Centre.

Gaza 'number one' priority over local worries

For the first time, the 52-year-old will not be voting Labour on 4 July and will instead cast a 'protest vote'.

Mohammed knows that the South West Wiltshire constituency has been a Conservative seat for years, but feels strongly that the UK's two main political parties have taken the wrong stance on the war in Gaza.

The eruption of the Gaza conflict and Sir Keir Starmer's apparent backing of Israel "with a blank check" prompted Mohammed to divert from Labour, a party traditionally supported by British Muslims.

The Moroccan-British family say they are encouraging people to "vote Green at least", referring to the progressive climate-centred party. Mohammed and Imane have noticed similar grievances shared about the Labour Party on their social media feeds.

Since October, Rishi Sunak's Conservative-led government has not wavered from its American allies and stood with Israel, even as calls to stop arms sales grew louder at home after three British citizens were among seven aid workers killed by Israeli drones in April.

"I liked Labour, especially when Jeremy Corbyn was party leader," Mohammed recalled. "He was a man of his word, I felt that he was honest."

Imane noted other concerns for the family ahead of the election. She is worried about the housing crisis in Wiltshire, now that their four children are growing out of the two-bed social housing they were allocated by the council after a long wait years ago.

Mohammed was recently made redundant, and he conceded that the cost of living and housing were both major worries, but, he said, the Gaza conflict is still their "number one" priority.

'Always voted Conservative'

Finance officer Shazuli Iqbal and his wife Souhaina moved from London to Trowbridge nearly 20 years ago when there "was not even a single shop" in the town.

Originally from Sri Lanka, 55-year-old Shazuli is chairman of the Wiltshire Islamic Cultural Centre which organised the Eid Al-Adha event in Trowbridge last weekend.

Around 100 people enjoyed the festivities, which included a barbecue, homemade South Asian dishes, Turkish music, and a bouncy castle.

Speaking to The New Arab while manning the dessert stand, Souhaina, a science teacher at a local secondary school, said she had "always voted Conservative".

Our Conservative Manifesto has a clear plan to:

✂️Cut your taxes.
🇬🇧Strengthen our Armed Forces.
🏡Make it easier to buy a home.
📚Improve education for all.
🔒Protect pensions from tax.

No other party will take that bold action. pic.twitter.com/B1Bj0hEJnn

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) June 12, 2024

Working in schools, she explained, has left her feeling passionately about investment in education.

"We don't even have enough glue sticks," she remarked, before adding that teachers are "not paid enough".

When it comes to schools for special educational needs and disabilities, Suhaina particularly worries about funding and resources gaps which have plagued the field for years.

The family's 16-year-old son has special needs and Suhaina says Wiltshire is a "black hole" in support for special needs schools.

But this year, Suhaina says she will vote differently. She named issues like getting doctor or dentist appointments, something regularly cited among the British public, and Sunak's 'Stop the Boats' campaign, as well the situation in the Middle East, have all pushed her to rethink. 

"Even though it doesn’t affect us directly, it is surrounding us," she said of the war in Gaza. "We did boycott lots of stuff; like we didn’t shop at Next, stopped KFC and Coca Cola," the mother of three said.

Protest vote

Suhaina's husband Shazuli will likely cast a "protest vote" in response due to the main parties' positions on Gaza, who he said need to be more balanced, citing the disparity in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 - when Western governments widely condemned Moscow - to their backing of Israel’s invasion of Gaza.

Since Sunak announced the election last month, no parliamentary candidate has reached out to the Islamic centre, Shazuli said, although added that the previous MP Andrew Murrison had attended events in the past.

Shazuli will join Mohammed in his drift towards a protest vote.

"In Trowbridge you always meet Conservative voters, but we’re just making a point," Mohammed said.

"One thing the leaders should know about us Muslims," he continued. "Is that standing with this Gaza conflict has hurt us a lot, impacted us a lot."