Al-zakir
ELITE MEMBER
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2008
- Messages
- 8,612
- Reaction score
- -8
- Country
- Location
Muslim women make British parliament breakthrough
LONDON, May 8, (AFP): Britains first female Muslim members of parliament celebrated Friday after winning seats in the general election.
Rushanara Ali, the first person of Bangladeshi origin to be elected to the British parliament, stood for Prime Minister Gordon Browns Labour Party. She won the east London seat of Bethnal Green and Bow with a comfortable majority.
To millions of Bangladeshis around the world, it will mean so much to them that somebody of their background has been elected to the mother of all parliaments, said the 35-year-old, who was born in Sylhet and moved to east London when she was seven.
East London is the heart of the Bangladeshi community in Britain. Some street signs around the Brick Lane area are written in English and Bengali. Labours Shabana Mahmood and Yasmin Qureshi also feted being among the first wave of Muslim women ever elected to the House of Commons. Mahmood won the seat of Birmingham Ladywood in Britains second city. The constituency has the highest percentage claiming unemployment benefits in Britain.
Mahmood was born and bred in Birmingham. She studied at Oxford University, then became a lawyer. She described her victory as a real breakthrough.
I think it sends a powerful message... Parliament should reflect the people it represents.
Qureshi, 46, a Pakistani-born lawyer, moved to Britain when she was nine. She was elected in Bolton, northwest England.
Im absolutely delighted. Obviously, I am very pleased the voters of Bolton South East chose a Labour candidate and elected a Labour MP.
It is a truly humbling experience and I promise to work very hard for the constituents.
British newspapers Saturday urged Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg leader to seal a power-sharing pact without delay after inconclusive elections, but differed on his choice of partners. The Liberal Democrats are locked in talks with the Conservatives, the biggest party after Thursdays election produced a hung parliament in which no party holds an absolute majority.
But some papers said Cleggs party, thrust into the kingmaker role despite finishing third in the election, should instead side with Prime Minister Gordon Browns Labour Party which is closer politically.
They also did not rule out Conservative leader David Cameron going it alone with a minority government but stressed that Britain needed a legitimate administration as soon as possible to tackle its sky-high debt.
The Financial Times argued that a Tory-Lib Dem pact offered the best hope of stability at a time of economic turbulence.
With the Greek sovereign debt crisis threatening to spill across Europe, it is no time for the parties to bicker and jockey for position.
Speed is of the essence. It should be possible to reach a deal over the weekend. If not, a Tory minority government would be the logical alternative.
The Times said Cameron had earned the moral right to govern and Clegg should take his offer of a tie-up seriously while Brown should get out of the way.
The Labour leader cannot remain as prime minister, while Clegg has a difficult calculation to make, it said.
In a swipe at the third-biggest party, The Times added: The Lib Dems have always claimed to want power, although they have often seemed to revel in the comparative luxury of opposition.
The Sun took a humorous approach with a front page property scandal involving a Scottish squatter called Gordon Brown who was refusing to budge from 10 Downing Street, denying entry to its rightful tenant.
Gordon Browns shameless posturing shows his contempt for voters, said the tabloid, which strongly backed Cameron in the election.
The most-read daily said the Liberals will never get a better offer of a serious role in government. David Camerons invitation is their chance of a lifetime. They should seize it.
The shambolic and shaming polling day scenes of some people unable to vote made Britain look like tinpot Zimbabwe, it added.
The left-leaning Guardian, saying an opportunity had arisen from the confusion, urged Labour and the Liberals to team up.
Brown, having faced his first general election as party leader since taking over from Tony Blair in 2007, now has a mandate to share power, though not to govern alone, which he lacked before.
In multi-party politics, pacts between parties that speak for a majority of voters are always legitimate.
This weekend, Labour and the Liberal Democrats should strike a fixed-term deal to secure the economic recovery, assure the markets about key spending plans and hold an early referendum on electoral reform, with a general election on the new system to follow.
Muslim women make British parliament ?breakthrough?
LONDON, May 8, (AFP): Britains first female Muslim members of parliament celebrated Friday after winning seats in the general election.
Rushanara Ali, the first person of Bangladeshi origin to be elected to the British parliament, stood for Prime Minister Gordon Browns Labour Party. She won the east London seat of Bethnal Green and Bow with a comfortable majority.
To millions of Bangladeshis around the world, it will mean so much to them that somebody of their background has been elected to the mother of all parliaments, said the 35-year-old, who was born in Sylhet and moved to east London when she was seven.
East London is the heart of the Bangladeshi community in Britain. Some street signs around the Brick Lane area are written in English and Bengali. Labours Shabana Mahmood and Yasmin Qureshi also feted being among the first wave of Muslim women ever elected to the House of Commons. Mahmood won the seat of Birmingham Ladywood in Britains second city. The constituency has the highest percentage claiming unemployment benefits in Britain.
Mahmood was born and bred in Birmingham. She studied at Oxford University, then became a lawyer. She described her victory as a real breakthrough.
I think it sends a powerful message... Parliament should reflect the people it represents.
Qureshi, 46, a Pakistani-born lawyer, moved to Britain when she was nine. She was elected in Bolton, northwest England.
Im absolutely delighted. Obviously, I am very pleased the voters of Bolton South East chose a Labour candidate and elected a Labour MP.
It is a truly humbling experience and I promise to work very hard for the constituents.
British newspapers Saturday urged Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg leader to seal a power-sharing pact without delay after inconclusive elections, but differed on his choice of partners. The Liberal Democrats are locked in talks with the Conservatives, the biggest party after Thursdays election produced a hung parliament in which no party holds an absolute majority.
But some papers said Cleggs party, thrust into the kingmaker role despite finishing third in the election, should instead side with Prime Minister Gordon Browns Labour Party which is closer politically.
They also did not rule out Conservative leader David Cameron going it alone with a minority government but stressed that Britain needed a legitimate administration as soon as possible to tackle its sky-high debt.
The Financial Times argued that a Tory-Lib Dem pact offered the best hope of stability at a time of economic turbulence.
With the Greek sovereign debt crisis threatening to spill across Europe, it is no time for the parties to bicker and jockey for position.
Speed is of the essence. It should be possible to reach a deal over the weekend. If not, a Tory minority government would be the logical alternative.
The Times said Cameron had earned the moral right to govern and Clegg should take his offer of a tie-up seriously while Brown should get out of the way.
The Labour leader cannot remain as prime minister, while Clegg has a difficult calculation to make, it said.
In a swipe at the third-biggest party, The Times added: The Lib Dems have always claimed to want power, although they have often seemed to revel in the comparative luxury of opposition.
The Sun took a humorous approach with a front page property scandal involving a Scottish squatter called Gordon Brown who was refusing to budge from 10 Downing Street, denying entry to its rightful tenant.
Gordon Browns shameless posturing shows his contempt for voters, said the tabloid, which strongly backed Cameron in the election.
The most-read daily said the Liberals will never get a better offer of a serious role in government. David Camerons invitation is their chance of a lifetime. They should seize it.
The shambolic and shaming polling day scenes of some people unable to vote made Britain look like tinpot Zimbabwe, it added.
The left-leaning Guardian, saying an opportunity had arisen from the confusion, urged Labour and the Liberals to team up.
Brown, having faced his first general election as party leader since taking over from Tony Blair in 2007, now has a mandate to share power, though not to govern alone, which he lacked before.
In multi-party politics, pacts between parties that speak for a majority of voters are always legitimate.
This weekend, Labour and the Liberal Democrats should strike a fixed-term deal to secure the economic recovery, assure the markets about key spending plans and hold an early referendum on electoral reform, with a general election on the new system to follow.
Muslim women make British parliament ?breakthrough?
