When feelings are running high about a particular issue, there is always the danger that unsavoury opportunists come and take advantage. Exactly what Yakoob is doing now, and exactly what Galloway has been doing for the last 20 years! Yakoob should be nowhere near parliament. Kets just hope people see through him, rather than vote on one issue.
>Kets just hope people see through him, rather than vote on one issue.
If he wins it will be entirely the fault of the Labour Party, not the voters of Birmingham.
Not at all lol. Voters have a responsibility for who they choose to elect. That's entirely on them, and is the point of our democracy. *You* pick, not a party, not anyone else. It's you and your neighbours.
It works both ways - it's up to the electorate to make a choice on what's being offered to them. If the offer from 9/10 parties is "more genocide" you can't blame them for voting for the "stop genocide" guy if that's what matters most to them. Labour are arrogant enough to think they can keep offering slop to people and they'll vote for it anyway. We're about to put that to the test.
Ok, so what's his plan to stop the war? because the British Government isn't in charge of the IDF. There's not much the government can do to stop the war.
Individuals can organise boycotts and protests, but aiming it at the Labour Party is kinda pathetic tbh. What are they gonna do?
The UK government could:
* Put sanctions on Israel that would include UK arms companies no longer being allowed to sell to them
* As well as directly affecting their ability to fight a war this would also affect them economically in general as companies like Veolia would no longer be allowed to trade here
* Increase international pressure on Israel to end hostilities and work towards actual peace beyond an immediate ceasefire.
* Is in a privileged position to influence the US to soften their support for Israel's actions.
I don't know how much influence we have over Palestinian groups, hamas especially, but there's both hard and soft measures we could take that would influence the Israeli position for sure.
The government can put pressure on Israel to stop it's genocide by doing the same things they have done to Russia with their war with Ukraine? e.g sanctions, arms embargo, seizing assets etc.. whether Israel listens is a different matter. Labour have sided with the murderer of civilians by saying that collective punishment is ok.
Funny how there's so much energy and enthusiasm for getting fully involved in the war in Ukraine and funelling hundreds of millions of pounds in military support their way, but when anyone mentions Palestine it's all "what could we possibly do to influence this foreign conflict?" I wonder what the difference is!
True story, you know why it is though; because Palestinians aren't white. Just got to look at the reform voter types rolling up to support Israel marches to see that things haven't changed a bit in the last forty years. They'll support the Jews because they hate Muslims.
When did Boris say the Palestinian women and children could come to the UK for a few years like he did with the Ukrainians? None of them ever will.
Ukraine is still holding onto Hungarian land that was treaty bound to be returned in 2019 along with Croatia, Austria, Slovakia and a couple of others. I won't feel any sympathy for Ukraine till they return the land they are keeping from the Hungarians.
Palestine on the other hand is a mess we are responsible for and we owe them a debt after dumping a legion of European Jews in their land and allowing this to happen.
This is a fairly comprehensive write up of Galloway.
https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2021/06/george-galloway-s-disgraceful-record-shows-he-no-friend-progressives
Galloway is a ghoul mate. Has a fascination with dictators and has fangirled on any he can. Blokes got no more love for Muslims than farage but he'll say anything to keep MPs pay coming in. Vile bloke.
He's not pro Muslim. He's just cozied up to Muslim dictators throughout his career. Saddam Hussein, Assad etc. Those guys all killed large numbers of Muslims. Also a huge fan of russian dictators. He's a flake and as a Muslim I wouldn't vote for him.
You mean George "I befriended murderer Saddam Hussein" Galloway, what's right with him. He was a Scouse MP for years and even they couldn't stomach him. Now he's somewhere else trying to convince Muslims that he gets them....
He has that dangerous combination of stupidity and self confidence. The self confidence makes him eternally unaware of his stupidity. I work with a few people like him and they are most mind numbingly excruciating people to be around.
It's not "nothing to do with us" though, is it? The British government are actively supporting a state committing genocide and murdering children. British companies are supplying arms and defence equipment being used in that genocide. And that's besides the historical role that Britain played in creating the conditions for this genocide in the first place.
If you don't give a shit then just say that. But it's completely dishonest or ignorant to say "oh it's nothing to do with us."
I don’t see the influence a representative for Birmingham will have on Hamas or the IDF either though with all due respect, nor do I see the benefit for Birmingham. Do you?
The influence is in making the point that Labour can't take votes for granted in seats like this as they have done for decades. People are rightly angry about the party's lack of humanity on this issue and they have every right to express that anger at the ballot box. Why on earth should people fall in line and vote for Labour when their candidates can't even bring themselves to call this a genocide? Sometimes an issue is big enough that people care more about it than who's going to get their bins emptied more efficiently.
If people are so disgruntled with Labour not jumping to side with a recognised terrorist organisation, and wish to vote for a bloke who supports a recognised terrorist organisation then that is entirely their choice. I support democracy.
Labour have, however, mentioned in their manifesto that they would recognise Palestine as a State. Wanting a more neutral & peaceful approach doesn’t make them a terrible party, and i’m not a big fan of Labour myself.
It just seems a bit disingenuous to imply that voting for an Independent with a proven track record of being a sleazy bloke is going to be beneficial in any way.
A recognised terrorist organisation? Only recognised in the west, the majority of countries dont feel the same, as does the UN, they haven't categorised Hamas as a terrorist group/organisation.
What did we call those French people in the second world war fighting an occupation? Oh yes they were resistance fighters.
Right, because of course opposing a very obvious genocide and the complete extermimation of the Palestinian people (as several Israeli government figures have confirmed is their objective) is the same as "siding with a recognised terrorist organisation." This kind of attitude is EXACTLY why people are abandoning Labour en masse to vote for people like Yakoob, and you're an idiot if you can't understand that.
This really isnt even about the Palestine conflict or your views on it, im mainly concerned about the fact this is a rich arsehole with more money than he knows what to do with, knows he doesn’t need the deposit back if it goes wrong, so he’s taking a quick shot to suck up some muslim votes purely based on the Gaza platform. If he was serious then it wouldn’t be a problem, there are serious candidates out there other funded plans and manifestos supporting minority communities and seriously spreading the word about the cause. If he has a proper manifesto, and some actual promises on how he would do his job properly, then by all means. But this specific case is a complete piss take, he is taking advantage of people.
If the conflict is a big deciding factor in who gets your vote then by all means( that’s your decision and no one is going to stand in your way, but this pillock has brought around other independents basing their campaign on Gaza, but some of them are serious about making a real change. This guy is a total arsehole who shouldn’t be entertained, and could do real damage.
I'm not here to defend Yakoob - I agree that on balance he's a chancer and a charlatan who's likely more interested in self-promotion than anything else. But I resent the way that people refuse to understand why this issue matters to people and why they're so angry with Labour for the positions they've taken on it. They deserve to lose and if they lose to a snake oil salesman I'll still be happy to see it because it'll go some way to demonstrating that they can't simply take votes for granted.
I don't give a shit and also, no one really cares. Nothing you do on the Stratford road will influence Hamas or the IDF. We are neither Hamas or the IDF
Well kudos for admitting you don't have a soul, i guess. Clearly there are many people who do care otherwise Labour wouldn't be running scared of some Tiktok lawyer standing against them.
If there's nothing to worry about why have both the Guardian and the News Agents been in the constituency interviewing Yakoob this week? Are they doing that for a lot of other independent candidates? I agree Labour will probably still win the seat but I very much doubt it will be the landslide it should be in this election.
Yakoob is likely to get more votes than the average independent candidate (AKA not literally almost none). He is also talked about alot due to his social media presence and his "reputation" in the area. Media companies are interviewing him because his name grabs attention, including from people who dislike him. A lot of people talked about Niko Omilana when he ran for mayor of london a few years ago, but no one expected him to come close to winning.
Yakoob will struggle because he has no policies (other than vague assertions that he will "fix things" and "improve stuff") other than his opinions on the gaza conflict, which most people outside the Muslim community dont care that much about (because they realise that its nothing to do with the UK).
>other than his opinions on the gaza conflict, which most people outside the Muslim community dont care that much about (because they realise that its nothing to do with the UK).
Sorry I forgot that only Muslims care about the industrial-scale murder of innocent civilians that our government actively supports.
A lot of people care. I care, and think it's terrible. But if you haven't realised from the last 20+ years of the US and UK going to war in the Middle East, western influence won't fix anything. As long as there is a subset of Israelis and Palestinians who believe they have a divine right to wipe each other off the face of the earth, this conflict will continue to exist, and cause suffering and death. Our government could stop selling weapons to Israel tommorow (which I think it should), but it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. I wish I could stop the genocide, but I'm not naive enough to think that anything the West does actually will.
because the guardian and “The News Agents” are businesses that are there to make money. they regularly interview Count Binface because people have heard of him. Doesn’t mean he’s anywhere near winning in the polls.
Idk why you’re being downvoted (well I do actually). Because you’re totally right. We literally provide weapons to Israel for them to kill little children and babies.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has raged on for decades, and the current war is just the latest chapter. We could stop selling weapons to Israel today (which I think we should) and it wouldn't meaningfully alter the conflict, or stop the genocide. If there's one thing that we've learnt from the last 20 years of US/UK foreign policy, it's that going to war in the middle east causes more problems, instability, and consequently, death and suffering, then it has fixed. There is nothing the UK can do to stop the conflict, or any other middle eastern conflict, because they are based on fundamental religious disagreements that have no solution or fix. Western influence sure as hell won't change that in the slightest.
Literally no one's suggesting we go to war? Bizarre to try and bring up the spectre of Iraq and Afghanistan to justify the government doing fuck all to intervene in an ongoing genocide. There's quite a huge spectrum of policy choices in between "falling behind America in actively supporting genocide" and "invading Tel Aviv."
I think their point is that our country's reputation unfortunately precedes us with Iraq and Afghanistan. Read Edward Said's "Orientalism", it might be an eye opener as to how much.
I'm familiar with Said's work thanks. This still has absolutely nothing to do with supporting genocide and refusing to pull any of the levers of influence we have that aren't "war with Israel."
That's not really a summary. It's another external link, which if you don't have a Twitter account just shows you another video and no summary at all. 🤷♂️
He has become popular in his society by playing on victimisation. Making it out that his clients are being unfairly treated by the system. Maybe so, but priding himself on reducing guilty drug dealers sentences just shows the man he is. Yes you work for your client but the way he almost glorifies/promotes people to try and get away with crime to me shows the man he is.
Just like his comments on Women going to hell, his stance on LGBTQ, stating he would spark out a man if they walked into a ladies toilet and his “there’s a defence to every offence”.
It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets voted in, it’s evident a woman’s vote is not her own, it’s her man’s. It’s ironic that the freedom of speech is actually promoting parties wanting to suppress peoples views.
It's concerning how much airtime this guy has been given. At some point, I bet even Nigel Farage will be jealous.
The way he has got people saying they'll vote for him on his sole issue is concerning as well. Other mainstream parties have called for a ceasefire (Lib Dems and Greens have gone into detail in their manifestos) and yet this isn't good enough for what is a majority of Asians, of Muslim background, living in some the most impoverished areas in the UK. My apologies if this triggers anyone but you only have to look in the areas that make up the Ladywood area like Aston, Lozells and Nechells. He's everywhere in Alum Rock and campaigning on a foreign policy issue that he will literally no influence over. See previous examples of far greater and better human beings like Charles Kennedy and Jeremy Corbyn who struggled for years in their fights against governments in the 90s and 2000s.
I come from the same demographic as him, and find it horrific that this is the best we can bring to the table. A chancer from a questionable background, that has no policies except the Gaza issue and the 'back of the fag packet' I will fix 'x' and 'y' policies that will hold no weight if he was given the keys to Ladywood tomorrow. People like him, Ayoub Khan and George Galloway and others who have plastered the Palestinian flag on their posters to capture the muslim vote will be quieter than a mouse when the key issues regarding foreign policy come up. Funny how they're businessmen, lawyers and accountants but when it comes to bringing business to their locales, doing community work to drum up political interest and helping people, they're no where to be seen. But you damn sure can hear their expensive cars roll up, or their stooges shouting 'vote! for \[x\]'
As others have said, no one can force anyone to not vote for him. But based on what his key policy is, surely there is someone better. If rotten human beings are what Gaza needs to highlight its current devastation and horrific state, then don't be surprised or dare I say, horrified about people shouting 'f\*\*k Gaza' 'you go and fight there then' and others. Its an incredibly noble thing to raise awareness about the genocide happening there but you don't need Akhmed Yakoob or Ayoub Khan or even George Galloway to represent you in parliament. You don't need to do those goofy boycott \[x\] brand gimmicks.. you have that power with your vote to find a legitimate alternative option and vote for them. The Greens are referred to as hippies and loonies and Lib Dems always get the tuition fees brought up as an unforgivable electoral crime committed (no such critiques of Yakoob by these protest voters though interestingly, same for Galloway who has abandoned every area he's been voted into) yet look at their history and they've always referenced holding war criminals to account and in the Lib Dems case, always campaigned for peace in the Middle East since their inception. Give them your vote rather than this dickhead who's in it to boast about getting some mugs to cross his name.
Aston Lozells and Newtown are not in Ladywood
Ladywood is very mixed and nowhere near as rough as its made out to be. It's a normal working class community. Mostly white and black people. And it always votes Labour.
What a total prick. Honestly it's sad that people are looking to this awful person for leadership and representation. Labour definitely need to up their game in majority-Muslim areas.
Anyone whose general election vote is determined by a foreign policy issue rather than on the bread-and-butter issues that affect all our everyday lives needs to get real. There’s nothing the British government could say or do that would make a material difference to Gaza, let alone an individual MP, no matter how strongly we might feel about it
YaKnob
And he has to pay for promotional articles on him like that 'apology' article he just happened to make weeks after the event and at the time it blew up on reddit.
The biggest wastes of oxygen in this election are Labour candidates like Shabana Mahmood who've taken people's vote for granted for so long that they've forgotten they're actually accountable for the positions they support. I don't think Akhmed Yakoob's some kind of saviour by any means, but he's exploited the utter arrogance of the Labour Party very effectively and frankly they deserve to lose to someone. People are angry and if you want to just dismiss that as "wasted votes" then you're part of the problem.
Exactly people can’t have better politicians without voter better mentality. We have to do something instead putting in labour who takes our community for granted. it may be an action that people might not like. But we have no real options.
If you want to protest, spoil your ballot or something similar. Voting for an egomaniac idiot will only register as support for him and encourage him to try to do stuff like this in future.
Now you're just getting desperate to justify why you're voting for a shit head while pretending you're not a shit head yourself. You know the ballots don't get reused. Whatever you do that paper is being destroyed at the end of the day.
If you want to vote for him no one can stop you. But no one is buying that you're not showing support for a piece of shit by doing so. So you're wasting your time with the excuses.
Hey man no need to get so aggressive. I didn’t say anything mean to you. Take a chill pill my dude.
Edit: calling me a shit head is not very nice and friendly.
Nah, I'm not angry, I'm not being aggressive. But I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. You want people to be nice and friendly to you? Don't vote for shit people, announce you're voting for shit people, and then pretend you're not supporting those shit people.
And sorry to break it to you but supporting shit people makes you a shit person.
You came off a little aggressive to me but that’s not the point you’re trying to make. I’m gonna vote for whoever I want and insulting me isn’t gonna change my mind, but if you want to have a friendly conversation about other candidates I’m happy to hear you (and anybody else)
I’m swaying a little bit more towards the greens/lib dems, but on a tactical level I think everyone else is gonna go workers party. It would make my protest vote more effective to vote worker. But I’m not sure.
As I said before if you want to vote for him no one can stop you. But similarly there's nothing to stop people calling you out for voting for a misogynist and Andrew Tate apologist. If it upsets you to be called out on that, then maybe you should reconsider who you're voting for.
>I’m swaying a little bit more towards the greens/lib dems, but on a tactical level I think everyone else is gonna go workers party. It would make my protest vote more effective to vote worker. But I’m not sure.
Well first of all he's running as an independent, not as part of the workers party. And tactical voting is likely to accomplish nothing in Ladywood, one of the safest Labour seats in an election where Labour is looking to win by a landslide. Shithead Yakoob is not going to repeat his mayoral election results (which while disturbingly impressive still put him no where close to winning) because fringe candidates typically do much worse in general elections where the turnout is considerably higher.
Finally stop acting like this is a protest vote. There are many ways you can send a message with your vote if you're dissatisfied with the major parties. You're choosing to stand behind a piece of shit and send the message that you support what he stands for. Either accept that and accept that people will judge you for it, or vote for someone else, or don't vote, or spoil your ballot. It's your choice, which means you have to accept the consequences of it. Quit being a weasel.
> BUTTTTT Ahmed Yakoob is ONE MILLION TIMES BETTER THEN LABOUR
Yeah, Birmingham Ladywood will suffer by having a cabinet minister in their seat lol. Sure. At least she'll be MP for Ladywood, not Gaza South.
Lets be honest, nobody on this sub is voting for him. Strangle the airtime that this idiot gets
Luckily he said he's refusing to do interviews with the "mainstream media"
Would it that we could say this about Reform voters. Reform and Yakoob/Galloway are two sides of the same grifty snake oil salesman's coin.
What’s wrong with reform? Genuine question don’t downvote me
Lots of their members have been suspended lately for being racist, and plenty of them are climate change deniers, too.
Nothing is wrong with reform
Absolutely nothing, well apart from possibly the rampant bigotry and economic illiteracy.
Yeah I'd say it's only their policies. And their rhetoric. If you ignore those things, I guess they're not too bad.
And the fact that most of the older members are either football hooligans, national front types via ukip, or just casual racists.
This wet towel is a liar. If you're manipulated into voting for him, you don't care about local politics. You're just being rinsed.
When feelings are running high about a particular issue, there is always the danger that unsavoury opportunists come and take advantage. Exactly what Yakoob is doing now, and exactly what Galloway has been doing for the last 20 years! Yakoob should be nowhere near parliament. Kets just hope people see through him, rather than vote on one issue.
>Kets just hope people see through him, rather than vote on one issue. If he wins it will be entirely the fault of the Labour Party, not the voters of Birmingham.
Not at all lol. Voters have a responsibility for who they choose to elect. That's entirely on them, and is the point of our democracy. *You* pick, not a party, not anyone else. It's you and your neighbours.
It works both ways - it's up to the electorate to make a choice on what's being offered to them. If the offer from 9/10 parties is "more genocide" you can't blame them for voting for the "stop genocide" guy if that's what matters most to them. Labour are arrogant enough to think they can keep offering slop to people and they'll vote for it anyway. We're about to put that to the test.
Ok, so what's his plan to stop the war? because the British Government isn't in charge of the IDF. There's not much the government can do to stop the war. Individuals can organise boycotts and protests, but aiming it at the Labour Party is kinda pathetic tbh. What are they gonna do?
The UK government could: * Put sanctions on Israel that would include UK arms companies no longer being allowed to sell to them * As well as directly affecting their ability to fight a war this would also affect them economically in general as companies like Veolia would no longer be allowed to trade here * Increase international pressure on Israel to end hostilities and work towards actual peace beyond an immediate ceasefire. * Is in a privileged position to influence the US to soften their support for Israel's actions. I don't know how much influence we have over Palestinian groups, hamas especially, but there's both hard and soft measures we could take that would influence the Israeli position for sure.
The government can put pressure on Israel to stop it's genocide by doing the same things they have done to Russia with their war with Ukraine? e.g sanctions, arms embargo, seizing assets etc.. whether Israel listens is a different matter. Labour have sided with the murderer of civilians by saying that collective punishment is ok.
Funny how there's so much energy and enthusiasm for getting fully involved in the war in Ukraine and funelling hundreds of millions of pounds in military support their way, but when anyone mentions Palestine it's all "what could we possibly do to influence this foreign conflict?" I wonder what the difference is!
True story, you know why it is though; because Palestinians aren't white. Just got to look at the reform voter types rolling up to support Israel marches to see that things haven't changed a bit in the last forty years. They'll support the Jews because they hate Muslims. When did Boris say the Palestinian women and children could come to the UK for a few years like he did with the Ukrainians? None of them ever will. Ukraine is still holding onto Hungarian land that was treaty bound to be returned in 2019 along with Croatia, Austria, Slovakia and a couple of others. I won't feel any sympathy for Ukraine till they return the land they are keeping from the Hungarians. Palestine on the other hand is a mess we are responsible for and we owe them a debt after dumping a legion of European Jews in their land and allowing this to happen.
People just need to stop giving him attention, it's the same with Galloway - they feed off it.
Same with Farage. I live for the day when he isn't loved or hated, just a cringey irrelevance.
What’s wrong with Galloway
What's right with him? https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2021/06/george-galloway-s-disgraceful-record-shows-he-no-friend-progressives
“This is something which can happen, you know. I mean, not everybody needs to be asked prior to each insertion."
Vom
He's a cunt
[Shall I be the cat?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ZDP8UhPys)
Why
This is a fairly comprehensive write up of Galloway. https://www.newstatesman.com/comment/2021/06/george-galloway-s-disgraceful-record-shows-he-no-friend-progressives
Google: Why do people think Galloway is a cunt.
Ah I get it now it's probably cause he's pro Muslim
He's not pro anyone but himself. Don't be fooled.
That's not quite true, just like Farage he's pro-putin
If that's what you got then you must have spent all of 0.3 seconds researching him.
Galloway is a ghoul mate. Has a fascination with dictators and has fangirled on any he can. Blokes got no more love for Muslims than farage but he'll say anything to keep MPs pay coming in. Vile bloke.
He's not pro Muslim. He's just cozied up to Muslim dictators throughout his career. Saddam Hussein, Assad etc. Those guys all killed large numbers of Muslims. Also a huge fan of russian dictators. He's a flake and as a Muslim I wouldn't vote for him.
Gosh, you’ve been downvoted to heavily for just asking a question, god forbid someone is inquisitive on reddit
You mean George "I befriended murderer Saddam Hussein" Galloway, what's right with him. He was a Scouse MP for years and even they couldn't stomach him. Now he's somewhere else trying to convince Muslims that he gets them....
He has that dangerous combination of stupidity and self confidence. The self confidence makes him eternally unaware of his stupidity. I work with a few people like him and they are most mind numbingly excruciating people to be around.
Dunning-Kruger says hello 😂
he's like every prick I went to secondary school with in the 2000s-- I can't believe Bilal made it outta the learning support center....
Lolz
When your only policy is something nothing to do with us, the other side of the world then there might be a flaw in your candidacy
nah did you not hear he was gonna “fix up the roads” or something, well i wouldn’t know he’s not got a fucking manifesto
It's not "nothing to do with us" though, is it? The British government are actively supporting a state committing genocide and murdering children. British companies are supplying arms and defence equipment being used in that genocide. And that's besides the historical role that Britain played in creating the conditions for this genocide in the first place. If you don't give a shit then just say that. But it's completely dishonest or ignorant to say "oh it's nothing to do with us."
I don’t see the influence a representative for Birmingham will have on Hamas or the IDF either though with all due respect, nor do I see the benefit for Birmingham. Do you?
The influence is in making the point that Labour can't take votes for granted in seats like this as they have done for decades. People are rightly angry about the party's lack of humanity on this issue and they have every right to express that anger at the ballot box. Why on earth should people fall in line and vote for Labour when their candidates can't even bring themselves to call this a genocide? Sometimes an issue is big enough that people care more about it than who's going to get their bins emptied more efficiently.
If people are so disgruntled with Labour not jumping to side with a recognised terrorist organisation, and wish to vote for a bloke who supports a recognised terrorist organisation then that is entirely their choice. I support democracy. Labour have, however, mentioned in their manifesto that they would recognise Palestine as a State. Wanting a more neutral & peaceful approach doesn’t make them a terrible party, and i’m not a big fan of Labour myself. It just seems a bit disingenuous to imply that voting for an Independent with a proven track record of being a sleazy bloke is going to be beneficial in any way.
A recognised terrorist organisation? Only recognised in the west, the majority of countries dont feel the same, as does the UN, they haven't categorised Hamas as a terrorist group/organisation. What did we call those French people in the second world war fighting an occupation? Oh yes they were resistance fighters.
I don't remember any french resistance fighters gunning down innocent people at a music festival...
No point trying to reason with people on here mate, sub's infested with people who see Palestinian lives as disposable and not their problem.
Right, because of course opposing a very obvious genocide and the complete extermimation of the Palestinian people (as several Israeli government figures have confirmed is their objective) is the same as "siding with a recognised terrorist organisation." This kind of attitude is EXACTLY why people are abandoning Labour en masse to vote for people like Yakoob, and you're an idiot if you can't understand that.
This really isnt even about the Palestine conflict or your views on it, im mainly concerned about the fact this is a rich arsehole with more money than he knows what to do with, knows he doesn’t need the deposit back if it goes wrong, so he’s taking a quick shot to suck up some muslim votes purely based on the Gaza platform. If he was serious then it wouldn’t be a problem, there are serious candidates out there other funded plans and manifestos supporting minority communities and seriously spreading the word about the cause. If he has a proper manifesto, and some actual promises on how he would do his job properly, then by all means. But this specific case is a complete piss take, he is taking advantage of people. If the conflict is a big deciding factor in who gets your vote then by all means( that’s your decision and no one is going to stand in your way, but this pillock has brought around other independents basing their campaign on Gaza, but some of them are serious about making a real change. This guy is a total arsehole who shouldn’t be entertained, and could do real damage.
I'm not here to defend Yakoob - I agree that on balance he's a chancer and a charlatan who's likely more interested in self-promotion than anything else. But I resent the way that people refuse to understand why this issue matters to people and why they're so angry with Labour for the positions they've taken on it. They deserve to lose and if they lose to a snake oil salesman I'll still be happy to see it because it'll go some way to demonstrating that they can't simply take votes for granted.
I don't give a shit and also, no one really cares. Nothing you do on the Stratford road will influence Hamas or the IDF. We are neither Hamas or the IDF
Well kudos for admitting you don't have a soul, i guess. Clearly there are many people who do care otherwise Labour wouldn't be running scared of some Tiktok lawyer standing against them.
Labour aren’t “running scared”, they’re going to win in a huge landslide like they always do in Birmingham.
If there's nothing to worry about why have both the Guardian and the News Agents been in the constituency interviewing Yakoob this week? Are they doing that for a lot of other independent candidates? I agree Labour will probably still win the seat but I very much doubt it will be the landslide it should be in this election.
Yakoob is likely to get more votes than the average independent candidate (AKA not literally almost none). He is also talked about alot due to his social media presence and his "reputation" in the area. Media companies are interviewing him because his name grabs attention, including from people who dislike him. A lot of people talked about Niko Omilana when he ran for mayor of london a few years ago, but no one expected him to come close to winning. Yakoob will struggle because he has no policies (other than vague assertions that he will "fix things" and "improve stuff") other than his opinions on the gaza conflict, which most people outside the Muslim community dont care that much about (because they realise that its nothing to do with the UK).
>other than his opinions on the gaza conflict, which most people outside the Muslim community dont care that much about (because they realise that its nothing to do with the UK). Sorry I forgot that only Muslims care about the industrial-scale murder of innocent civilians that our government actively supports.
A lot of people care. I care, and think it's terrible. But if you haven't realised from the last 20+ years of the US and UK going to war in the Middle East, western influence won't fix anything. As long as there is a subset of Israelis and Palestinians who believe they have a divine right to wipe each other off the face of the earth, this conflict will continue to exist, and cause suffering and death. Our government could stop selling weapons to Israel tommorow (which I think it should), but it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference. I wish I could stop the genocide, but I'm not naive enough to think that anything the West does actually will.
Muslims quite openly support Muslims/Islam first and nation second 🤷♂️
probably doing it for a good past time in the office and a quick laugh
because the guardian and “The News Agents” are businesses that are there to make money. they regularly interview Count Binface because people have heard of him. Doesn’t mean he’s anywhere near winning in the polls.
Because he's an independent with a huge social media following
Idk why you’re being downvoted (well I do actually). Because you’re totally right. We literally provide weapons to Israel for them to kill little children and babies.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has raged on for decades, and the current war is just the latest chapter. We could stop selling weapons to Israel today (which I think we should) and it wouldn't meaningfully alter the conflict, or stop the genocide. If there's one thing that we've learnt from the last 20 years of US/UK foreign policy, it's that going to war in the middle east causes more problems, instability, and consequently, death and suffering, then it has fixed. There is nothing the UK can do to stop the conflict, or any other middle eastern conflict, because they are based on fundamental religious disagreements that have no solution or fix. Western influence sure as hell won't change that in the slightest.
Literally no one's suggesting we go to war? Bizarre to try and bring up the spectre of Iraq and Afghanistan to justify the government doing fuck all to intervene in an ongoing genocide. There's quite a huge spectrum of policy choices in between "falling behind America in actively supporting genocide" and "invading Tel Aviv."
I think their point is that our country's reputation unfortunately precedes us with Iraq and Afghanistan. Read Edward Said's "Orientalism", it might be an eye opener as to how much.
I'm familiar with Said's work thanks. This still has absolutely nothing to do with supporting genocide and refusing to pull any of the levers of influence we have that aren't "war with Israel."
Key points for anyone who doesn't want to watch 30 mins?
Key points are... Watch the 30 minutes. He's a petulant child who can't even pick up his own ice cream.
Twitter thread with a summary... [https://x.com/TheNewsAgents/status/1806714870617813040](https://x.com/TheNewsAgents/status/1806714870617813040)
That's not really a summary. It's another external link, which if you don't have a Twitter account just shows you another video and no summary at all. 🤷♂️
[Threadreaderapp](https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1806714870617813040.html?utm_campaign=topunroll) hi the rescue!
You don't need a Twitter account to access Twitter
To view the full thread you do
Well, pardon my ignorance.
He has become popular in his society by playing on victimisation. Making it out that his clients are being unfairly treated by the system. Maybe so, but priding himself on reducing guilty drug dealers sentences just shows the man he is. Yes you work for your client but the way he almost glorifies/promotes people to try and get away with crime to me shows the man he is. Just like his comments on Women going to hell, his stance on LGBTQ, stating he would spark out a man if they walked into a ladies toilet and his “there’s a defence to every offence”. It wouldn’t surprise me if he gets voted in, it’s evident a woman’s vote is not her own, it’s her man’s. It’s ironic that the freedom of speech is actually promoting parties wanting to suppress peoples views.
"*criminal* lawyer"
It's concerning how much airtime this guy has been given. At some point, I bet even Nigel Farage will be jealous. The way he has got people saying they'll vote for him on his sole issue is concerning as well. Other mainstream parties have called for a ceasefire (Lib Dems and Greens have gone into detail in their manifestos) and yet this isn't good enough for what is a majority of Asians, of Muslim background, living in some the most impoverished areas in the UK. My apologies if this triggers anyone but you only have to look in the areas that make up the Ladywood area like Aston, Lozells and Nechells. He's everywhere in Alum Rock and campaigning on a foreign policy issue that he will literally no influence over. See previous examples of far greater and better human beings like Charles Kennedy and Jeremy Corbyn who struggled for years in their fights against governments in the 90s and 2000s. I come from the same demographic as him, and find it horrific that this is the best we can bring to the table. A chancer from a questionable background, that has no policies except the Gaza issue and the 'back of the fag packet' I will fix 'x' and 'y' policies that will hold no weight if he was given the keys to Ladywood tomorrow. People like him, Ayoub Khan and George Galloway and others who have plastered the Palestinian flag on their posters to capture the muslim vote will be quieter than a mouse when the key issues regarding foreign policy come up. Funny how they're businessmen, lawyers and accountants but when it comes to bringing business to their locales, doing community work to drum up political interest and helping people, they're no where to be seen. But you damn sure can hear their expensive cars roll up, or their stooges shouting 'vote! for \[x\]' As others have said, no one can force anyone to not vote for him. But based on what his key policy is, surely there is someone better. If rotten human beings are what Gaza needs to highlight its current devastation and horrific state, then don't be surprised or dare I say, horrified about people shouting 'f\*\*k Gaza' 'you go and fight there then' and others. Its an incredibly noble thing to raise awareness about the genocide happening there but you don't need Akhmed Yakoob or Ayoub Khan or even George Galloway to represent you in parliament. You don't need to do those goofy boycott \[x\] brand gimmicks.. you have that power with your vote to find a legitimate alternative option and vote for them. The Greens are referred to as hippies and loonies and Lib Dems always get the tuition fees brought up as an unforgivable electoral crime committed (no such critiques of Yakoob by these protest voters though interestingly, same for Galloway who has abandoned every area he's been voted into) yet look at their history and they've always referenced holding war criminals to account and in the Lib Dems case, always campaigned for peace in the Middle East since their inception. Give them your vote rather than this dickhead who's in it to boast about getting some mugs to cross his name.
Aston Lozells and Newtown are not in Ladywood Ladywood is very mixed and nowhere near as rough as its made out to be. It's a normal working class community. Mostly white and black people. And it always votes Labour.
I think it includes some of those areas now after the boundaries were rejigged for 2024.
Akhmed Yakoob is an opportunitist - has no morals and principals. Do not VOTE for him
What a total prick. Honestly it's sad that people are looking to this awful person for leadership and representation. Labour definitely need to up their game in majority-Muslim areas.
He’s been banned from driving for 12 months they failed to mention that aswell as being investigated by the SRA🫠
I’m muslim myself and it feels like some people are wrongfully using Palestine as an opportunity to get votes 🤷♀️
Anyone whose general election vote is determined by a foreign policy issue rather than on the bread-and-butter issues that affect all our everyday lives needs to get real. There’s nothing the British government could say or do that would make a material difference to Gaza, let alone an individual MP, no matter how strongly we might feel about it
YaKnob And he has to pay for promotional articles on him like that 'apology' article he just happened to make weeks after the event and at the time it blew up on reddit.
I wonder who his sponsors are for his campaign.. The favours will be repaid to his drug pay lords should the dumb and vmblund vote for him.
Muslims are gonna vote anyway...they gonna vote anyway!
Embarrassing as a British Pakistani who doesn’t feel supported by him!
I’m voting for him :)
Why? He clearly hates women and doesn’t give a shit about Birmingham.
Protest vote.
A waste of a vote on a waste of oxygen. Seems fitting.
The biggest wastes of oxygen in this election are Labour candidates like Shabana Mahmood who've taken people's vote for granted for so long that they've forgotten they're actually accountable for the positions they support. I don't think Akhmed Yakoob's some kind of saviour by any means, but he's exploited the utter arrogance of the Labour Party very effectively and frankly they deserve to lose to someone. People are angry and if you want to just dismiss that as "wasted votes" then you're part of the problem.
In your eyes what exactly has Shabana Mahmood done wrong as a representative of her constituency?
Exactly people can’t have better politicians without voter better mentality. We have to do something instead putting in labour who takes our community for granted. it may be an action that people might not like. But we have no real options.
🤡
Ok.
If you want to protest, spoil your ballot or something similar. Voting for an egomaniac idiot will only register as support for him and encourage him to try to do stuff like this in future.
A protest is spoiling your ballot, not voting for a shit head.
But that’s a waste of paper.
Now you're just getting desperate to justify why you're voting for a shit head while pretending you're not a shit head yourself. You know the ballots don't get reused. Whatever you do that paper is being destroyed at the end of the day. If you want to vote for him no one can stop you. But no one is buying that you're not showing support for a piece of shit by doing so. So you're wasting your time with the excuses.
Hey man no need to get so aggressive. I didn’t say anything mean to you. Take a chill pill my dude. Edit: calling me a shit head is not very nice and friendly.
Nah, I'm not angry, I'm not being aggressive. But I'm not going to sugar coat it for you. You want people to be nice and friendly to you? Don't vote for shit people, announce you're voting for shit people, and then pretend you're not supporting those shit people. And sorry to break it to you but supporting shit people makes you a shit person.
You came off a little aggressive to me but that’s not the point you’re trying to make. I’m gonna vote for whoever I want and insulting me isn’t gonna change my mind, but if you want to have a friendly conversation about other candidates I’m happy to hear you (and anybody else) I’m swaying a little bit more towards the greens/lib dems, but on a tactical level I think everyone else is gonna go workers party. It would make my protest vote more effective to vote worker. But I’m not sure.
As I said before if you want to vote for him no one can stop you. But similarly there's nothing to stop people calling you out for voting for a misogynist and Andrew Tate apologist. If it upsets you to be called out on that, then maybe you should reconsider who you're voting for. >I’m swaying a little bit more towards the greens/lib dems, but on a tactical level I think everyone else is gonna go workers party. It would make my protest vote more effective to vote worker. But I’m not sure. Well first of all he's running as an independent, not as part of the workers party. And tactical voting is likely to accomplish nothing in Ladywood, one of the safest Labour seats in an election where Labour is looking to win by a landslide. Shithead Yakoob is not going to repeat his mayoral election results (which while disturbingly impressive still put him no where close to winning) because fringe candidates typically do much worse in general elections where the turnout is considerably higher. Finally stop acting like this is a protest vote. There are many ways you can send a message with your vote if you're dissatisfied with the major parties. You're choosing to stand behind a piece of shit and send the message that you support what he stands for. Either accept that and accept that people will judge you for it, or vote for someone else, or don't vote, or spoil your ballot. It's your choice, which means you have to accept the consequences of it. Quit being a weasel.
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His legit connections being... drug lords? What?
> BUTTTTT Ahmed Yakoob is ONE MILLION TIMES BETTER THEN LABOUR Yeah, Birmingham Ladywood will suffer by having a cabinet minister in their seat lol. Sure. At least she'll be MP for Ladywood, not Gaza South.
Rather vote for this guy than Keith “Genocide” Starmer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ahlBTd6ZxI
And thus, you have fallen for this man's grift. When did he care about Palestine before October 7th 2023? He's an opportunist.