Labour MPs faced widespread condemnation after voting against holding a national inquiry into the systematic abuse perpetrated by rape gangs, predominantly of Pakistani heritage, across the UK.
The motion, introduced by Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch, was defeated in an evening House of Commons vote on Wednesday, January 9th by a significant margin of 364 votes to 111, after not a single Labour MP backed it. The result sparked accusations that the Labour Party is prioritising political correctness over justice for victims.
Critics labelled Labour’s decision an “act of cowardice,” accusing party leaders, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer, of turning a blind eye to the victims’ suffering. Chris Philp, the Conservative shadow home secretary, said:
It is disgusting that Keir Starmer has used his supermajority in Parliament to block a national inquiry into the rape gangs scandal.
However, the Conservatives have also faced criticism: the cover-up happened on their watch and they failed to hold a serious, comprehensive inquiry while in power. Reform UK emphasised this point on X yesterday:
Meanwhile, writing in The Spectator, political commentator Douglas Murray pointed out that, instead of endless inquiries, immediate action, harsher punishments, deportations, and genuine accountability for public officials who looked the other way, would make a much bigger difference. (Such measures would not be incompatible with a genuine investigation into the nationwide pattern of Pakistani-heritage rape gangs ignored—or worse—by the authorities for decades, blighting life in scores of British towns.)
However, Labour’s refusal to support a new inquiry has amplified allegations that the political and cultural elites view the working-class communities affected by these crimes as unworthy of serious attention. In his recent article, Frank Furedi, executive director of MCC Brussels, argued:
These gangs were given a free pass because neither local nor national elites were prepared to acknowledge that multicultural Britain was in big trouble.
The fact that Labour is reluctant to address the racial dynamics of these crimes only adds to the criticism. The Times reports that in 2019, the party adopted a definition of Islamophobia that discourages discussions linking ethnicity to rape gangs. Critics argue that this has hindered the ability to tackle the issue head-on. Ann Cryer, a former Labour MP who raised early concerns about these abuses, was vilified as a racist for her efforts. On Monday, Keir Starmer also accused advocates of an inquiry of jumping on a “far-Right bandwagon.”
The debate has exposed deep divisions within Labour. Foreign secretary David Lammy asserted that a national inquiry has been “ruled out” after Wednesday’s vote while safeguarding minister Jess Phillips maintains that “nothing is off the table” if victims demand it. Such contradictions have only fuelled accusations of Labour’s opportunistic handling of the crisis.
Professor Furedi contends that this “political conspiracy of silence” reflects a broader fear of confronting the racial motivations behind the crimes. “The most distinctive feature of the grooming gang phenomenon is its racial dimension,” he wrote, adding that the crimes represent a form of “racial vengeance” against white society.
Until political leaders confront these uncomfortable truths, the victims of these heinous acts will remain voiceless, and the fragile underpinnings of Britain’s multiculturalism will continue to erode. The vote against the inquiry represents, for many, a betrayal of justice in favour of ideological convenience.
