Desi London Mayor
 

Even my desi friends who live outside the UK say that this is a bad idea.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Care to elaborate why you and your friends think this?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Bipat, where are you?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

I have't followed the campaign, but didn't Sadiq speak ill (used a racial epithet) of Muslims who are moderate.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

How can you talk about this without coming of Racist?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

:popcorn:

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Quite easily actually as I'm no more racist than the next person. There are a number of issues with this appointment though - many may not be avoidable with a different mayor, some likely to be.

Due to voter apathy, the worlds second most powerful city now has a second generation immigrant mayor. He probably does not represent many of the cultural values that the population (not of second or third immigrant descent) will hold. Further, a fear I have is that as a Sunni-Pakistani he will come under a lot of pressure from Saudi freeholders in London - and he may also struggle to not bow to their demands (arguably the others would also bow to their demands but maybe for different reasons).

He will also face continual allegations of Islamic sympathy and not protecting certain groups of people (all the Jews in london for instance). This will distract him from the day job.

Let's also not forget that his past as a lawyer was essentially spent helping people screw the police. Poacher now turned gamekeeper.

While I celebrate the UKs democracy let us not forget that this man still has many links (he still sends money home to family apparently) to his home country. These links may not always be supportive of his new job or the values that he is claiming to hold.

The U.K. Is really struggling with an identity crisis and this doesn't help the average angry white man driving a van. The risk is that a man who speaks on their behalf (i.e. A trump) ceases this opportunity and exploits it. We do not need another trump.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Read an article on BoJo a few days ago, which pointed out that under his tenure London's popularity has soared - in the world, not for the British. London has probably never been as disconnected and isolated from the rest of the UK than it is today. The worst part of Khan's election is that it serves as a very visible symbol of this transformation of London from a British city into an international city, a city that seems to owe more allegiance to the rest of the world than it does to the UK.

The problem is that I don't think there's any other country where the capital city has such a dominance over the rest of the country as London does in the UK. Not even New York comes close. So it does fuel the resentment among the white van men. Some will claim it's due to racism, others, like me, will suggest that there's a growing sentiment in the traditional British working - lower middle classes that the country's elite no longer governs the UK for the benefit of anyone else beyond the elite themselves (left and right) and that the concerns and well-beings of large swathes of the British population are fully secondary to the political, social and economic interests of this new establishment and they have repeatedly placed the concerns of special interest groups (minorities, the EU, bankers, globalism) above the rest of the British population. Unfortunately I suspect there's a lot of truth to this.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

I have not followed the election to closely, its something that I wasn't to interested in. I heard comments he is close to radical extremist - which i find hard to believe.

I am disappointed on two folds a) Because Labour won it b) i will never be able to relate to him, or his values (i maybe understand them, but they will never represent what i want from UK). For example would a Second Generation Pakistani decedent want to cut down on immigration? That goes on to the next point, maybe that shows the change in demographics of London and possibly of the UK today. Ie the White man / British values (if that exist any more) is not longer prominent which saddens me most.

It's the little things like this which nails in that i won't be returning to UK unless I have no other option. It's not my home any more

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

He original post been deleted?

Seems to me that a lot of the negative comment is simply racist. This is pretty much what I posted on my facebook page yesterday.

London has a new major, democratically elected and whilst I am not a big fan of the man he seems like the least worst option.

What I am truly disgusted by are the comments on news pages and people's timelines which are just nasty, bigoted and racist. Khan was born and educated in the UK, voted for equal marriage, is not in favour of Sharia law and appears to be a modern man who just happens to be Muslim.

Hating someone for their skin colour, religious background or name is so 1970s. Time people got past that kind of thing.


White van man does not represent me and I'd rather have someone like Khan in the role than a Trump type. I don't see that him sending money to family members outside of the UK is a bad thing. If they are struggling and he is well off that's a good thing to do and not just a cultural obligation which in itself is not negative.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

[QUOTE=Meow;11942429]He original post been deleted?

Seems to me that a lot of the negative comment is simply racist. This is pretty much what I posted on my facebook page yesterday.

London has a new major, democratically elected and whilst I am not a big fan of the man he seems like the least worst option.

What I am truly disgusted by are the comments on news pages and people's timelines which are just nasty, bigoted and racist. Khan was born and educated in the UK, voted for equal marriage, is not in favour of Sharia law and appears to be a modern man who just happens to be Muslim.

Hating someone for their skin colour, religious background or name is so 1970s. Time people got past that kind of thing.


But has he actually been democratically elected?

If there is no credible alternative, and Goldsmith certainly wasn't one and nor was he really endorsed by his party, then is it truly democratic?

Colour is of no issue to me in either the candidate or the van, but this does feel like a cross party orchestrated capitulation to the obvious dilution of the western world.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Does he consider himself Muslim first, or British first?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

He refers to himself as a British Pakistani. This answers your question.

I have no issue with Brits or Pakistanis. But you cannot be both.

This is one point that all my true desi friends agree on.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Are you questioning the UK election process? Of course it was a democratic election.

Funny how people who don't like the outcome try and question the process.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

I'll play devil's advocate. ;)

How does that differ from all the Italian Americans, Irish Americans etc?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Yes I am.

I didn't say I didn't like the outcome, was only questioning the process.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

some of you seriously crack me up...proper arm chair activists.....all of you took off from the UK to better yourselves and now you are throwing tantrums because London has a muslim mayor.....talk about hypocrisy in the truest sense of the word.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Correct and incorrect.

Maybe we left UK because we don't like what it has become?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Let's see any of the local Arab countries elect a Christian or Jew to a prominent position ;)

One thing I've learned from living outside the UK is that most of the non-Western world operates on very different value sets that affects their politics, meaning it's one rule for the UK but a different rule elsewhere. We're chastised if we worry about the potential (whether real or imagined) implications of a Muslim mayor of London yet no one ever complains about the lack of non-Muslim leadership in the Middle East. Except Israel, of course, and see how contentious that is!

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Didn't like it so went somewhere where there was more of it. Makes sense.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Couldn't resist. The Eastern country with the world's second largest population and a high Muslim population.
The opposition party (that ruled for years) has an Italian origin leader.:lol:

(Don't worry I won't say anything else--I agree with Meow)

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

What does India have to do with the Middle East?

Would said woman have been elected had she not married into a certain dynasty? See - different value sets.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Quite.

There is a heap of irony in a bunch of expats complaining about "foreigners" taking over their country. (Yes, Norm temporary v citizens but still a valid point.)

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

You don't like there being lots of Muslims so you move to the UAE? :blink::blink:

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

My issue is not with the religion or original origin of the winning candidate, my issue is with this was a fair vote for the man and woman in the street.

Democracy shouldn't mean voting for the least worst option.

Teresa Jowell was the clear choice amongst Labour party members in the initial vote to represent the Labour party in the 2016 mayoral election.

That did not fit the agenda and she was promoted/pushed into the house of lords to back away.

Leaving Khan as a sure nomination, so who did the Consevatives put up against him?

Zac Goldsmith. Who had absolutely no interest in being mayor, had very tepid support from his party and pretty much did everything he could to antagonize the man in the street, of whichever creed.

This is the Goldsmith of a very significant family influential on British and European politics for a century or more. Through inheritance he is conservatively estimated to be worth £400 million.

Then he goes and marries a Rothschild heiress, making the couple not only worth a billion plus but from two of the biggest decision making behind the scenes families the west has ever known.

Oh and both families through their various guises are investing/influencing/manipulating heavily in Pakistan and its neighbours at present.

Never wanted to win, made sure he didn't

Hence my original point. Democracy is not democracy if their is only one choice.

Oh and Goldsmith's sister is Jemima Khan, married to Imran Khan. Massively influential in what soon will be the west's preferred choice of government in Pakistan.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

The Muslim population is still a minority in India. Sonia Ghandi while being of Italian descent married into the prominent Ghandi family and is Indianized.

There isn't an Italian Indian community in India that Sonia belongs to and identifies with ; Sonia is Indianized and fully assimilated into a particular Indian community. So her example is absolutely nothing like that of Sadiq.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

It was democratc but a democratic process isn't necessarily good, because pure democracy can lead to bullying of minorities and introduction of anti human rights laws. Egypt democratically elected Mohammed Mursi who then embarked on an Islamist agenda that sought to marginalize non Islamists. Then Mursi got overthrown by the dictator El Sisi who did have substantial popular support at the start but embarked on his own authoritarian agenda.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Have you not seen any of those ghastly British First posts? Plenty of claims of the country being over run.

Anyway... ;)

http://i68.tinypic.com/wlpvsi.jpg

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Hang on, are you suggesting there is a better option than democracy?

No system is perfect, but I don't think anyone can suggest that the UK system is intrinsically bad. Heaven knows the selection process is not ideal but what's the alternative? Too few people seem to be sufficiently interested in actually changing anything as persistent election turnouts demonstrate.

Maybe people get the politicians and government they deserve...

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Wow, why do you even wear out your keyboard with crap like that

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Democrasy needs to have a system of checks and balances that guard against anti-democratic forces exploiting democrasy to impose their will on society.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

What do you mean? What do you find questionable about my comments that pure democrasy can lead to trouble? I didn't mean to imply the mayor should have been found by some other means ; my comment was responding to Meow's comment on democrasy .

Nether Sadiq or Zac are good choices. Sadiq's antagonistic comments on moderate Muslims shows him to be a bigot and someone who is ideologically opposed to non-Muslims. In Zac case: could the conservatives have found a more elitist establishment candidate. Papa Goldsmith used his money and influence for machinations behind the scenes .

I don't prefer Zac over Sadiq ; I don't like either one . Just as I don't like Hillary or Donald. The choices were/are terrible . Yes it was a democratic election but if the people are only given terrible choices, it is rather rigged.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

As a point of order, Riyad Mahrez never deserved PFA player of the year.

it should however have gone to another foreign player.

Make of that what you will

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Have you been drinking?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

No it was the spelling that riled me

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Just pomegranate juice:lol:

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Looks as if it has fermented... :rolleyes:

No one is going to take you seriously if you want to discuss democracy but can't spell the word. Not on this forum at least. :cool:

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

Why limit yourself to local Arab countries.

I don't think this would happen in many other countries in the World... could you see this in Japan, China, India, Pakistan, Russia, maybe even USA.

Either what we have is a triumph for democracy (i.e. "we" are setting a global standard on how it should be done) - or it is a failure of democracy due to low turn-out and the system has been gamed.

I sincerely hope it's the former.

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

In fairness Meow, shouldn't we put that to the vote?

Re: Desi London Mayor
 

:lol::lol::lol: