Alastair Campbell famously declared that ‘We don’t do God’, yet it is customary that part of an election campaign includes wooing Britain’s minority faith communities – be they Sikhs, Hindus or Muslims. Boris and Corbyn are no exception.
In recent weeks, both party leaders have donned saffron headscarves while visiting Sikh temples (gurdwara). Both have published congratulatory tweets on the 550th birthday of Sikhism’s founder, Guru Nanak, and participated in the langar or free kitchen (always a good photo op). Boris even had a go at making the notoriously elusive round chapati with worshippers in Milton Keynes and Southall.
Meanwhile, Corbyn visited a Hindu temple to mark Diwali, seen in this video with a traditional religious mark on his forehead and floral garland around his neck, just as Boris made a trip to the Islamic Cultural Centre in Regent’s Park. But forgive me my cynicism – the reality is that politicians only ‘do God’ when they think it might help them at the ballot box.
I find it comical when Corbyn tells Hindus, Jains and Sikhs that ‘Diwali represents the victory of light over darkness’ when the stench of Labour’s institutional anti-Semitism festers like a gaping wound.
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