Warsi Attack: Too little too late

Being in the political wilderness after her resignation over Gaza, Baroness Warsi has come back with another riposte to the current political incumbents.

Baroness Warsi has never been elected by the electorate failing to win her hometown seat of Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. Having the ignominy of never being a Member of Parliament losing to Shahid Malik by 4,615 votes in 2005, many outside looking in have viewed her promotion within the Conservatives with justified scepticism, that it is not her political skills driving her forward but what she represents.

This was achieved by the back door having worked as a advisor to the current Prime Minister David Cameron on his leadership campaign and as an advisor to his predecessor Michael Howard, she was rewarded with a peerage by the Tory party in 2007.

Three years later after the general election she was rewarded with a seat in the cabinet, becoming the first female Muslim to do so. Highly commendable most would be of the opinion of.

However since that appointment and her subsequent resignation she was more a boon to the party than anything else and the majority of the party was happy to see the back of her.  Breaching ministerial codes, expense irregularities and at odds with the party line she resigned in her demoted role as the  Minister for Foreign Affairs and Faith Groups last August citing the government’s “morally indefensible” policy on Gaza.

In her resignation letter she felt due to the party’s stance on the unequivocal support of Israel risked radicalising young Muslims and it was something she felt she was unable to reconcile.

Many felt this position was highly contradictory considering the atrocities being committed by Muslims on Muslims throughout the world and one in particular Syria. Highly inconsistent most claimed as her sentiments changed when it was Non Muslims attacking Muslims.

When a personal plea was made by the mother of Abbas Khan to help in his release in Syria Ms Warsi suddenly claimed it was against government policy and declined to do so. Party policy was relevant to her principles on that occasion.

In this attack the former Conservative Chairman has accused the government of viewing Britain’s Muslim community with suspicion
and also criticised what she described as a policy of non-engagement with Britain’s three million Muslims, leading to a lack of trust.

This coming from the person along with Eric Pickles was previously at the helm prior to her resignation. Her role at the time was “Working with religious and community leaders to promote faith, religious tolerance and strengthen communities within the UK.”

So if she believes as she says there was ‘almost six years of non-engagement, both by the previous Labour Government and now the coalition’ so what was her role in helping the government do precisely what she is attacking now?

If she felt she could engage and make a difference then why didn’t she stay in the role instead of now coming in from the sidelines and saying how the government are doing it all wrong and she would have been doing it all right.

I am not a apologist for the policies of this government with regards to the Muslim community, in fact I vehemently denounced and continue to do so the many ill thought out stratagems of the administration.

I critiqued the letter sent last by week by Eric Pickles and the new Muslim replacement Lord Ahmad, however it is no good for Ms Warsi to fire broadsides from the periphery when she is as much to blame as anyone else having been in that very position of influence.

The question is why wait now to share her frustrations over the governments’ domestic approach to extremism? She believes she informed David Cameron of her misgivings on their policy stating it being a  “dangerously narrow engagement… a dozen people for a community of over 3 million”. but obviously had no sway on the matter whatsoever despite being given a position where she should be exerting it.

The main thing to remember is Ms Warsi did not resign because of whatever she is saying now and had she had all these anxieties she should have brought them to the fore last August and maybe the home situation could have been changed. However at that juncture she made no mention that she was at odds with anything that was going on domestically and no mention of this was made in her resignation letter.

But she seems to conveniently mention this now maybe due to her position within the party at this time. Just in case they have forgotten a timely reminder she is still around to stick the boot in and how she told them so.

For people like myself reading what Ms Warsi says now are merely hollow words and a case of too little too late.