Expat Texan

Indeed.

Ironic, isn’t it, that Red Ken gets destroyed on the day most holy to Che worshipers everywhere?

More than 300 extra councillors - three times as many gains as the LibDems.  A 44% share of the national vote.  Not only Labour defeated but clueless as to how they might recover.  A majority of Westminster insiders now (for the first time) predicting Tory victory at the next General Election.

Read this as well - concerning the battle between extremist and moderate Muslims for the soul of London. Unsurprisingly, the extremists backed Red Ken.  Sorry for the long insert - go read the entire thing, it’s worth the effort.

But this Mayoral election has three important lessons for politicians in general and the Conservative Party in particular.

First, there’s no such thing as the Muslim block vote, to be delivered up to suitably grateful candidates by key special interest groups.  Very many Muslims will have voted for Boris on Thursday.  While I was in Reading last Saturday canvassing with Muslim Conservatives from Wycombe, other local Wycombe Muslims were campaigning in London with David and Boris.  They were part of a bigger force led during recent weeks by my colleague Baroness Warsi, Syed Kamall, and London Muslim councillors.  It’s significant that Muslim Conservatives are now able to hit the streets in growing numbers – a sign of how the Party is changing and of how our support is widening.

Members of this force were the target, like Boris, of vicious personal assault by separatists.  Much of it was conducted (and vigorously contested) by e-mail.  This whole campaign seems to have backfired in some quarters.  Reports have emerged of exasperated Muslims protesting against the politicisation of their mosques by pro-Livingstone campaigners.  British Muslims come from a wide variety of religious, national, ethnic and linguistic backgrounds.  It’s patronising and insulting to assume that they are a single compliant entity, passively awaiting voting instructions from the Muslim Brotherhood or anyone else.

Second, Muslims’ concerns as voters are much the same as other people’s – safer streets, better transport, transparency, value for money.  Muslims want to practice their religion.  They don’t believe that this means voting for extremism.  We must remain a warm home for mainstream Islam and a cold place for separatism, whether based on religion or race.

Third, a candidate can endure attacks by the MAB, the BMI, Muslims 4 Ken – and other separatists – rise above them, build a broad coalition, and win.  He or she doesn’t have to – as Livingstone did – collaborate in the building-up of extremism.  Boris will govern in London for people from all religious backgrounds and none.  His is a famous Conservative win, and it will help community cohesion as a whole.

Let’s see - pandering to an extremist element versus trying to make sound policy that benefits everyone - why do so many of our politicians still migrate to the first choice?