Labour lose brown person to Tories
This will come as some embarassment to Labour. The Tories sent out a press release today triumphantly informing everyone that 27 year old former Labour candidate for Horsham, Rehman Christi Chishti, has defected to the Tories. A Muslim kid too! Double punch in the face.
He was born in Pakistan, and attended Fort Luton High School for Boys and then Chatham Grammar School for Girls in sixth form. He read law at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (2:1), where he was part of the NUS executive and vice chairman of the Labour students in Wales. He has also been a political aide to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, and worked for Peter Skinner MEP, and Helen Brinton, the former MP for Peterborough.
Yes, I know. Damn high achieving lawyers - can’t get away from that stereotype. Francis Maude, who he ran against, has appointed him his advisor on diversity and ethnic minorities. Sigh. Isn’t that like the fifth EM advisor they have now?
Forget Tory to Labour, how did he manage to swing a transfer from a boys school to a girl’s school?
Along with their ethnic minority council…the proof will be in whether they will select BME candidates in winnable seats at the next election.
Soru I was wondering that too, but I’m quoting their press release!
Leon - indeed
It’s quite intresting indeed someone from his background joing the Conservative party. I do not think we are going to hear a lot from him, though it’s a nice way for the Conservative party to grab the headlines. I was also looking at the election results for Horsham, he came in 3rd with 17%. I surpose that Rehman is use to swinging though, since what Soru pointed out.
I am especially impressed by the (2:1) degree class detail.
Why the surprise? The surprise really is that more Asians don’t stand as Tory candidates or indeed vote Tory. In many ways lots of Asians are natural consevatives - naturally conservative with a small c.
Family values, strong ethic of self sufficiency, entrepeneurialism, a belief in business and capitalism, the list goes on. I bet that amongst middle class Asians voting Tory is increasing the norm. Labour are the natural home for Asians because they are perceived as being the party most welcoming to them - the legacy of Powell and Tebbit lingers still - plus they pay all that lip service to ‘diversity’ and ‘community leaders’ and all that facile nonsense.
If the Tories want more Asian voters they are there for the taking. A couple of high profile young Asian Tory MP’s will make a difference to how they are peceived.
Christi!!!!?
I’m sure that surname is a misspelling. Shouldn’t it be “Chisti” (as in the historical Sufi saint Sheikh Salim Chisti) ?
You need to change the spelling Sunny, his name is Rehman Chisthi
http://politics.guardian.co.uk/person/0,9290,-8755,00.html
Whoops. I’ve amended that now.
Al hack you crack me up! nice correction shame on you sunny!
as for Francis Maude appointing another EM advisor who cares it raises the profile doesnt it.
David and Jai: It’s Chishti. Chisht is a town in Afghanistan from which a Sufi order emerged (led by Khwaja Mo’inuddeen, who became known as Khwaja Mo’inuddeen Chishti), and the order has a substantial following in India and Pakistan. Certainly not Christi, although I recall his name being mis-spelt as that even back at Aber when I was there.
On Chishti defection and Sands sacking
Via Pickled Politics, with their memorable headline “Labour lose brown person to Tories”, someone I knew as a union activist at Aberystwyth has joined the Conservative party just months after standing against the party chairman, Francis Maude, in his…
Let me tell you about Rehman Chishti. This is a man, who despite speaking with a very well educated sounding posh accent, actually comes from the back streets of Gillingham kent.
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Nothing will ever change. And if the tories think that they have pulled off a coup in recruiting a member of the opposition, just you wait until the next big bag of money comes along for another opposition group.
I am The Truth
Sunny adds: If you’re going to make a comment, please do so without libelling or defaming anyone. Otherwise it will be deleted.
So what? Muslims are probably more at home with Tories anyway.