WHO IS ZULFI KHAN?
Zulfi Khan is an Independent candidate for Pendle & Clitheroe at the 2024 UK General Election. Zulfi grew up in Nelson and attended Nelson & Colne College to study Law, Politics and History between 1995-97. He then studied Law at Lancaster University from 1997-2000.
In March 2020, he and his business partner, Nideem, founded Ten Legal in Bury where he practices today.
During this period he was the Director of a local clothes shop, Urban Reload, on Market St, Nelson from July 2008-April 2012 and Director of short-lived Advertising Agency called Aunty Jee in Blackburn from April 2014-Dec 2015
Zulfi is also a trustee of the Whitefield Youth Association charity and a Governor at Nelson & Colne College.
WHAT DOES HE SAY?
"My name is Zulfi Khan, an Independent Parliamentary Candidate for Pendle and Clitheroe in the upcoming General Election on 4th July 2024.I am a local resident of Barrowford, Pendle, having previously grown up and raised in Nelson, one of the most economically challenged towns in the region. As a qualified and practicing Solicitor and Partner of a Legal Practice for over 20 years, I bring a wealth of legal expertise to my community. Additionally, I joined the Board of Governors (voluntary non-paid position) at Nelson, Colne, Accrington and Rossendale College in 2020 where I continue to serve today.My decision to run as an independent candidate stems from my concerns about injustice and the lack of representation in our current political landscape. I believe that both major political parties have failed to adequately address the needs of the Working Class, leading to issues such as the rise in dependence on Food Banks, escalating taxes, and declining public services. Anti-social behaviour is on the rise, with slower Emergency Police Response Times and overcrowded hospitals struggling to meet patient needs.Despite living in a developed country like the UK, it is clear that significant improvements are required in terms of our Public Services. My aspirations are for us to enjoy a better quality of life so that we are not just surviving but we are actually enjoying our lives here in the UK. I am committed to advocating for a New Politics, a New Way, and real change for the people of Pendle and Clitheroe."
PENDLE INSIDER Q&A:
Pendle Insider met Zulfi for a chat about his views in Barrowford and found him to be very friendly and open to discussing his thoughts, ideas and the issues affecting the area and country as a whole. The interview was quite lengthy so the first part is here and the rest is at the bottom of the page.
Here's what Zulfi had to say:
Why have you chosen to stand and what do you represent?
"So, I'm Pendle born and bred, I'm 45 years old, I've lived here all my life and what I see as the years go on is - and I mentioned this is in one of my earlier videos - we're in 2024 and some of what we see appears to be 'Broken Britain'. For some people it'll just one of those fancy slogans, but if you look and scratch beneath the surface, it really is Broken Britain."
That's the Reform UK slogan
"Is it? I didn't know. Well it is broken, because if you look up in the North, especially Lancashire, and in particular East Lancashire, we're one of the most deprived boroughs in the country. And I'd go as far as to say Lancashire is completely deprived on a whole in general.
Yes, we're surrounded by countryside, but if you start going into the suburbs you see the real part of Britain which the politicians don't talk about - potholes, long NHS waiting lists, no police response to most crimes, accidents occurring up and down the country and this borough due to young lads speeding and taking nitrous oxide, what they call these balloons and stuff.
The coppers don't turn up, no disrespect to the police, it's not the police officers' fault, it's the fault of our government and local authorities because there's no resources for the police to turn up - there's 2, 4, 6, 8 coppers on duty in maybe Colne and Nelson, and if they've got 10-15 incidents a night, on a Friday nights, where are they supposed to be? They can't be in two places at once.Hospitals. I mentioned this a lot. The government talks about care in the community, I know for a fact - and this is on record - at Blackburn Hospital it's 'Care in the Corridor'. This is not just some sort of political rhetoric I've been using or spin, it is 'Care in the Corridor'. How do I know this? My colleague, her husband has been sat in a hospital bed for over 18 hours, in a corridor.
Someone I was speaking to in the gym last week - young British indigenous lad - started speaking about voting. He said 'Zulfi I don't vote', he's only like 40 or something, he said 'I've not voted for the last three General Elections, they're all the same blah, blah blah', so I started talking about the NHS and stuff and it resonated with him because his mother-in-law was in the hospital only a week and half earlier, and I said 'it's care in corridor', and he started to laugh and he said 'how do you know?, it's like you were there at the time,' and I said why? Go on... and he said 'My mother-in-law was in a corridor for three days straight'. So you can't tell me that we're living in a bright, beautiful country, as the 6th largest economy in the world, when we're experiencing something very different. We're experiencing something very different up North.Immigration. Let me touch upon it. It's a controversial topic. If you say certain things that I'm about to say, you will get labelled right-wing or racist. We're an island, and we're not a big island. We're bursting at our seams as it is. The country's bursting at its seams. I've got no issue with immigration, but it has to be controlled immigration, because there's migration out of the country as well. So as people leave the UK to go to Spain and wherever else, and maybe countries in the Middle East to work or whatever, with tax-free payments like Dubai, people are obviously also coming in. And Britain attracts people because of the notion of what it stands for, I mean you've got true freedom in one way and equality and justice, it's not a police state as such. But that doesn't mean we can be a free-for-all and for everybody to just turn up here.
The Tory government have talked about curbing immigration for 14 years - you tell me when they've actually reduced it, because they haven't done. And what happens is, they talk about it, and they talk about Rwanda - and I don't agree with the Rwanda thing by they way, that's completely wrong - but they talk about it like it's some sort of right wing rhetoric and they've not done anything about it and this is what's led to things like Nigel Farage and Reform party coming up in the world, because the people who have had enough, they are obviously frustrated, they're thinking 'actually, they're talking about it but they're not actually doing anything', so it becomes hypocritical. Don't just talk about it, do something about it. Don't do something too drastic like the right wing, and don't be like the Labour party who are like 'the borders are open to all' so they can get the working class vote for the next General Election. That doesn't work as well, because, like I said, we're an island and we're bursting at our seams. Because we're bursting, in turn we've now got problems with the NHS, with the police, with housing shortages - and not just because mortgage rates are going up, it's because we've got more people moving here than moving out.This care agency stuff that's going on. I'm a solicitor I know how this works because I've dealt with it first-hand. Applying for skilled visas for care workers - and care workers don't just come on their own, they're allowed to bring their dependents. When they bring in their dependents, if their husband, for example, can't find a job, how is he going to survive on the wife's wage as a care worker on minimum wage with maybe 2, 3, 4, 5 kids? There's got to be some give, so first give is there's a housing shortage, because then they're not look for a 2-up 2-down terraced or flat, they're having to look for a house with 3-bedrooms at the very least, but we haven't got the resources for 3-bedroom house, and if we have, someone else is then having to go without.
What has it led to, it's led to first time buyers living with their parents at the age of 35-40, cause they're struggling to get enough for a mortgage, and when they do get enough, there's no houses in their bracket, so they're having to go for something bigger. So they're not going for a terraced as a first time buyer because they've all been snapped up by investors in London or put up for rent, with HMOs (Housing Multiple Occupancy) and stuff, so they're having to go for a semi-detached as a first-time buyer. With mortgage rates as they are, and lenders asking for such a big deposit, that's the reason they are sat at home for 3, 4, 5 years cutting down on social life and the rest of it.
So, yeah, you can have immigration, and there's nothing wrong with it, and we have to have immigration, and I think we have to have a moral and ethical duty as a country in the West that we've got to take some asylum seekers in as well, like every other country is doing, but it can't be to the point where we've got war veterans, army veterans sat outside Aldi and Lidl in Colne begging for money. Because they were serving in the Armed Forces. Something's gone wrong. Something's gone badly wrong, and you can't tell me otherwise, because I can see it with my own eyes.
And I've studied politics long enough, at College and University, and I've lived it and I'm not wet behind the ears, so if you asked me to summarise why I stood up, when I look around me I think I can do a better job than the other candidates, hands down. I'm not a politician, I don't have all the answers, but what I do have is, I've got the aggression to ask tough questions, and I won't stand down until I've asked the questions. I'm not afraid and I'm not shy of asking difficult questions and I'm not shy of having a heated discussion with someone.
I'm so confident in my own ability that I've spoken to maybe 15, 16 or 17 people at the gym in Colne, 10 of which are hardcore Reform party supporters. They spoke to me and they said 'We're voting Reform', within 8 or 9, 10 minutes I'd converted them to vote for an independent. I said you're only voting Reform as a protest vote or possibly immigration, they said 'yeah', that's the only one policy they've got - immigration. Nothing else. Nigel Farage isn't interested in Pendle or Clitheroe, he's interested in himself and his party. The same would go for even George Galloway, he's only interested in... they're not actually from this area. On Thursday, whether I win or lose, I'm still here, I've got to live here, cos this is my home. I'm born and bred here."
The conversation went on for much longer after this. If you would like to read the whole transcript, please scroll to the bottom of this page.
WHAT ELSE DOES HE SAY?
June 30 - Facebook
June 29 - Facebook"If you seek genuine representation from someone who prioritises our local community over their political party or donors, if you are tired of the endless rhetoric from the politicians without directly addressing the issues, if you desire a more cohesive and united community where people work hard and live peacefully side by side, then make your voice heard - Vote Independent, Vote Zulfi Khan!"
"This week, the two main established parties brought in their heavyweights to support their respective candidates' election campaigns.
Interestingly, three out of the four prominent figures we observed are affiliated with a foreign power’s lobby group.
The fourth, Shadow Minister for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn, notably gave a passionate speech supporting the war in Syria—an action contrary to the Labour Party's stance at the time, much probably to the dismay of his late father, Tony Benn who would have been turning in his grave!
This country voted for Brexit to take control of its politics, free from external influence and policies not supported by the majority. This election is the Brexit moment for those who are on the side of humanity and represents a pivotal moment for those who seek to end the conflict in Gaza and achieve a permanent ceasefire. It calls for a thorough independent investigation by respected global bodies to provide an accurate account of the situation.The International Court of Justice has identified the situation as it is, and the global majority concurs. However, the current powers in the UK and the USA, including Labour, which positions itself as the next government, have failed to acknowledge it as genocide.
On Thursday, July 4th, if you want your voices heard clearly and desire control over how your country is run, vote Independent. The established parties no longer represent you; they represent their paymasters. Vote Independent, Vote Zulfi Khan"
June 26 - Facebook
"First there was the EXPENSES GATE SAGA where MP’s across the political spectrum were exposed for claiming money that they were not entitled to.
Then there was COVID GATE where the country was placed under lock down which meant that we were not even allowed to visit our loved ones in hospitals where they were receiving end of life care whilst those placing us in lockdown were busy partying and socialising as the rules did not apply to them.Now there is GAMBLING GATE!
These people do not represent, me, you or anyone else – they represent only themselves and their pockets!
June 25 - FacebookIt is now time for change, it is now time to have people who will be there to represent their consstituency interests first not their own and their parties – Vote Independent, Vote Zulfi Khan!"
"Some people pursue power by any means necessary, making promises to secure a position but then breaking them once in office – this perfectly describes Keir Starmer!With the election approaching, the link below outlines the number of high-profile u-turns Starmer has made thus far – is he truly the person to be given a mandate to run this country?
When selecting candidates nationwide, he hid behind others to justify his choices – handpicking candidates who wouldn’t challenge his leadership. The Parliamentary Labour Party is being run like a dictatorship, ostracising anyone with differing viewpoints.Don’t let this man gain an overall majority – it will be dangerous for the country as the Labour Party is no longer influenced by its grassroots supporters but by the rich and powerful, just like the Tories! Vote Independent, Vote Zulfi Khan"
POLICIES:
"Regarding my policies, I have outlined them on our social media Facebook Page but to reiterate, locally I would focus on lobbying government ministers to assist struggling families affected by the cost of living crisis, investing in public services, and securing additional funds to boost economic growth for local businesses.I will also advocate for increased policing in hotspot areas and collaborate with partners to create safer neighborhoods. As an independent candidate if successful, I would not have my hands tied as many do by their Party Whip and would be putting the concerns of the constituents first and foremost."
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LINKS:
Zulfi Khan page
Zulfi Khan Facebook
Zulfi Khan LinkledIn
Who Can I Vote For?
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
Interview follows on from the Q&A above.
I understand what you are saying about Farage not caring about Pendle, but what about the Reform candidate for Pendle?
"Victoria Fletcher? I actually didn't realise who she was until I went to BBC Radio Lancashire for an interview and they introduced us to each other, and she said 'oh, I already know Zulfi,' and I remember she used to work at a shop I used to be a customer at. That's as far as I know of her. I didn't even know she was in the political world. I went home after the Radio Lancashire interview and Googled her name and I realised she was a former Tory councillor. I don't know anything beyond that about her, so it would be unfair for me to criticise or comment."
Your policies do sound very Reform-like, I don't know whether that is offensive to you or not?
"Let me tell you something Craig. So the media will have you believe that British Muslims or - and I don't consider myself as a British Pakistani, I consider myself a Lancastrian, Pendle born and bred lad, whose faith is the background of Islam, and I practice it as well. But there's no difference with me and you, other than the visual difference of the skin colour, there's no other difference. We've got the same problems. Cost of living crisis. You probably get up in the morning and worry about the gas bill and water rate and whatever else, the Council tax. Council tax going up and up and up, for 14 years, and it's not going to come down if Labour get in because Angela Raynor's turned round and said straight up 'it's not a priority for us to reduce it'. That's a problem you probably face and I probably face. If you've got kids, you're probably worried about the future aren't you? High rates of crimes, what's going on around us. Education, lack of school places. Most people in the country just want live a nice, good, peaceful life, have one or two holidays a year, have a nice roof over their heads, nice couple of weekends away, live peacefully and in co-existance with the neighbours, whether that neighbour is black, pink, yellow or alien, whatever. Everyone has the same sort of issues, but the media will have you believe that someone - and I've experienced in this in my social media ads on my campaign - 'Vote for another Pakistani so we can have another mosque on the street corner'. Well that's completely untrue. 'Vote Pakistani because he wants to take over the country, the Muslamic ray guns', it's just complete ignorance. You know it and I know it. Unfortunately the majority of the electorate aren't bright enough to read into these things. Or they've never met anyone from the other side of the spectrum. They've problem never met and Asian, or Muslim or British Muslim or someone out of their little social circle. Fortunately for me I've got a diverse background of friends. I've gone to a University that was predominantly white - Lancaster. There was a handful of Asians in the lectures. I've lived in Chester which is a predominantly upper-middle class town/city. I've lived in Carlisle, where I did my training, so I've conversed and interacted and lived with white people, and I've realised there's no difference between anybody, whether you're hindu, athiest, agnostic, buddhist... "
Of course, it's all about the content of the character...
"You can say you're the best Christian and I can say I'm the best Muslim, but if your characteristics and behavior doesn't display that I'm going to think 'actually, there's no Christianity in this guy', and you're going to say 'so is this what his religion teaches him?' That's the top and bottom of it for me."
You can have good and bad people of all walks of life, religion doesn't really play a factor into it...
"But the media would have you believe it does."
Religion is an issue for some people, because we are a Judeo-Christian country...
"....people feel like Islam is taking over the country."
Yes. Also, people are not religious in the Christian way, but that doesn't mean they want another religion to replace it.
"I can understand and I can resonate with the argument, but Craig, I don't think anyone is actually trying to take over the country. Whether it be in population, or whether it be faith. I think most people just want to go to work, come home, have their nice little life, and yes, practice their faith, with freedom, which is why our parents probably came here - for a better life - good wages, good job, nice little house, good working conditions, good living conditions, that's about it. I don't want you ramming your beliefs down my throat, and you don't want me ramming my beliefs down your throat, and if everyone can respect each other and live amongst each other and abide by these kind of rules, I don't there'd be a problem anywhere.The problem stems from when the Tory's talk about 'yeah we're curb immigration', but they don't, there's unlimited immigration and these people don't have a job and they don't put anything into the system. This creates resentment, this actually creates racial polarisation, and this is why we're in the state that we are today. And this is the reason of the emergence of parties like the Reform party. People see what's going on and think 'these guys are coming from abroad, they don't learn the language, they're not contributing to the taxes and they're taking our benefit and our house and stuff', so I can understand it from that perspective, but then you got to look at it from our perspective - we don't condone that, we condemn it. We say, you come in anywhere, not just England, anywhere, you reap what you sow, you take out what you put in. These are old proverbs, hundreds of years old. So, if you come in here, contribute, if you're not going to contribute then thank you, but no thank you. Why? Because not only are you creating a problem for the country, on it's resources and economy, but you're creating a problem for the people living here. The other immigrants, and I'm not an immigrant, I'm born and bred here, I consider myself British. If people can't accept me being British because of the colour of my skin then actually they're not British, because British values are about diversity."
Can I ask if you have a dual nationality?
"I don't have dual nationality. Like I said, I'm British, born and bred here."
I understand that, but there's plenty of British people with dual nationality.
"Talking about controlled immigration......Everything's got to be based on merit Craig. New Zealand's got it right. I don't think Australia has got it right, I think Australia is a bit too right wing. New Zealand's got it just right. Why are people flocking to New Zealand from here? Or Canada? Because of these reasons."
So earlier you said you don't have all the solutions, obviously you've got the motivation and the aggression like you say...
"...in terms of solutions, can I just say, when I say I don't have all the answers I mean, no man or woman can sit here and say they've got all the answers, because you and I know that is just fake political narrative and rhetoric to garner support and votes. But I've lived here all my life and I understand the demographics of this area better than anybody, and I'm confident enough to say better than anybody sat in this cafe. Why? Because I've come across different experiences in my life, due to my job, due to my background, due to me sitting at the College as a board member, due to me having lived in different cities. Yeah I'm Pendle born and bred and I've lived here all my life, but that doesn't mean I've not lived away for University and lived away for work. I've seen different cultures and people of different faiths and castes and colours, I go to the gym. I talk to everyone across the board, whether they're LGBT, whether they're white, whether they look like aliens, because for me it's on face value. If someone says 'Good morning' to you, you say 'Good morning' back to them. You can't start thinking, well, ok, 'this is me in my little bubble, and this is my 2sq ft, and I'm not going to worry about anything around me', because if you do that, you're going to isolate yourself from reality."
So have you got any plans or ideas of how you put something in place to change?
"Well, I hope, if we got elected, and I say we instead of I, because this is a team effort. And it's not about me, I'm just the guy at the front whose going to do all the speaking and has been put up. There's a whole collective movement behind us that believes in similar values. First and foremost, my priority would be the A&E at Burnley Hospital. I think it's a shambles that we've got an MP, who is the Minister for Health, in the government, yet only four miles away, we're lacking an Accident and Emergency ward that was closed God knows how many years ago, and Blackburn is therefore having to serve Burnley, Pendle, Accrington, Hyndburn, as well as Blackburn and Darwen. How can Blackburn with all this? It's an old hospital, dated, lacks resources. So my first priority would be to lobby the government strongly to say, yeah, Andrew Stephenson has brought £100m into the area, no doubt, I'm not going to criticise him for that, but the delivery of some of the money I don't agree with.Nelson town centre Town Deal, £25m, God knows where it's gone. Publicly it's undisclosed [Pendle Rise purchase cost (£3.95m)], they're not disclosing it. Why? Where's that £4m come from? Your taxpayer's money and mine. Levelling up funding in Colne, I made a video about that. Andrew Stephenson's brought in this money for levelling up. Pendle Borough Council have got it so badly wrong, they've miscalculated the figures by £700k shortfall. We've come out for coffee today, I know you're not going to order more than a coffee and cake at the most. You're not going to say you want full lunch, we've never met each other. I'm going to think I need to bring £20 with me. Ten, 15, 20. I can't get it that wrong that I only come with £2. You'd just look at me and ridicule me. So the whole system's ridiculous. So the A&E would be the first and foremost, and secondly, I think it would be public services for me. The police presence, school places, this is important, and housing. We've got to build affordable housing for these families that are struggling. This is not about being a British Asian, or a British Muslim or a white right wing person or anything. This is just about citizens of the UK having a nice life and enjoying themselves as much as they possibly can. Within their financial limits.You've seen how many foodbanks we've got her, so when you say 'what are your aims', or 'why have you stood', I'm looking at £100m coming into the area but a significant increase in foodbanks. Why is that? White working class families are struggling to put a hot meal on the table for their kids. And I'm differentiating beween races here for a reason. Asian families tend to live as a unit, as a family unit. So for example, I'm 45 and I might live with my wife, and my mum and my dad and maybe grandparents. So when you're living as a collective unit, it's all going into one pot type of thing. Your wages and stuff. And if you have nieces, nephews or grandkids, brothers or sisters that are struggling, they'll come and eat from the family home at least once a day. English families don't tend to have that, from what I know of. Everyone sort of flies the nest, someone might be in New Zealand, someone might be Edinburgh, someone might be in Glasgow, and for that reason, if one person is falling behind, then is becomes a social stigma of asking your siblings or family members for financial help. It's not easy. I can imagine it's not easy. And I'm not saying I've been through it, but I know first-hand people who have been through it and I see it with my own eyes because I've done a little bit of voluntary work with some friends who deliver food for food banks, and we've gone as far as Trawden, Craig. Trawden, Earby, Sough, and I was flabbergasted thinking 'Wow', these are middle-class areas for me, and we're knocking on people's doors and they're white people. The guys who are dropping the food off, it's actually a mosque in Nelson, and I'm thinking 'I never thought it would get to this point where in 2024 we'd be giving food from a foodbank to so many houses', over 100 houses a night, maybe more. Asian families are struggling too, I'm not picking out any one ethnic background. I'm just telling you with Asian families they tend to, they'll all eat at one place, it might be their parents house, they take turns, whereas family units in indigenous communities, sometimes they're a bit spread out because the siblings go off in to the yonder, the move out, the emigrate, the rest of it, so they struggle more."
I want pick up on something, you seem to have thing about Reform even though your policies sound similar.
"I don't have an issue with Reform, my issue is this... ...The Average Joe on the street, if they read the Daily Mail or listen to Nigel Farage long enough, they will think that all Pakis are the same, all Muslims are the same, and that they want to take over the country. I'll tell you how it works, the elites are at the top and its the working class people in deprived towns who get told 'join the army, you get to see the world', no you won't you'll get the **** bombed out of you, and you'll come back with an amputated leg and they won't give a flying f about you. Why? There's no need for us to go interfering with other countries wars and stuff and all the rest of it, that's why we've got to the situation we've got to in this country. The asylum seekers and everything else, why has it come in here? Because we've meddled in other countries' problems and issues and so-called dictators. So as a nation we've reaped what we've sowed as well. You can't go meddling and not expect a backlash on your own doorstep, or expect to pick up the mess."
Zulfi's associate says:
"To be fair to Farage, he did say that in his speech last night [Reform UK NEC event]. He said we should not be interfering in other countries' wars."
The international wars, what's your viewpoint on the international wars?
"There's no issue with us getting involved in Foreign Affairs because we are and we were the workshop of the world and we were known as Great Britain, and we've always played a pivotal role in trying to broker peace and stuff and all the rest of it, but when you do this, you can't pick and choose which side you're on. If you're on the side of the oppressed, then you've got to be uniformed in that approach. So, Ukraine, the're fighting for Ukraine and they're saying they're suffering from terrorist Russia, and Putin and he's an evil man and everything else. If that's the case, then why are we not applying the same principles and same points when it comes to the Palestinians. Why are we supplying weapons, as a developed Western democracy, to a state that, in my opinion is a rogue state, and it's a terrorist state and it's committing genocide, and there's no two ways about it. No one can say to me that they are not committing genocide. You and I know that when you've killed 40,000 people in six months, if not more, then that's a genocide. There's no two ways about it.So yeah, fight and support Ukraine, no problem. But then do the same for Syrians, do the same for Yemenese, do the same for the Palestinians. You can't be in bed with rogues one side of the spectrum, but then on the other side of the spectrum say we're fighting for freedom, justice and democracy and all the rest of it."
What would you like to see as a solution to the Gaza/Israel question. Two states? One state? Or at the extreme, the eradication of Israel?
"So, no you can't have the extreme eradication of Israel, because they are here to stay. So we've got to accept that first of all. Secondly, you can't just have them saying 'yeah, this is our land', do what they are doing. And I have no issue with the Jewish faith, because my religion teaches me that everyone is equal, and I've actually got friends who are Jewish and work colleagues from the past who are Jewish who I am still in touch with. My issue is with Zionism. You can't take over a piece of land that doesn't belong to you because you think that God's given you a right to it, and continue to do that and exacerbate the problem.In terms of the solution, it has to be a two-state solution because there's no other way around it. They're trying exterminate the Palestinians thinking that 'if we get rid of these guys or bomb the crap out of them, that they will go away'. No, they wont. What that will create is young kids who see their parents and grandparents killed indiscriminately, that will create them to become radicals. So you can't remove an ideology from society, you're creating a worse problem. What we've got to do is accept the fact that them Palestinians were there before us. The Balfour declaration allowed us a home. We didn't create this problem as British Muslims or you [me] didn't create it, Balfour and the British created this.The Europeans, and I don't care how radical it sounds, because I speak the truth, and I speak the truth every time I speak. The Europeans did not want to accept the Jews in Europe, so what did they do, they put the problem somewhere else. The Palestinians, unfortunately, were so altruistic in their nature and so welcoming, because they were living side-by-side, whenever it was 1948, and when the state [of Israel] got created, they thought 'yeah we've got an inch, we'll take a mile'. And a mile went to two miles and three miles and four miles, and you can see that is exactly what's happening. And if anyone tells me this was created on October 7, then no it wasn't. Because if I come to your house, I'll bring all my mates from the gym and I take over your house, and you ring the police and the police are your neighbours, but I know your neighbours as well, so you can't do anything. And I take all your kitchen knives and everything and you've got one little butter knife that you've hidden. Then me and my friend take over the whole street. Then what are you going to do? You can't do anything, the only thing you can do is you're going to get that one little butter knife and at any point in time you're going to randomly prod at me, stab at me. That's what the Palestinians are doing right now.I'm not condoning Hamas, I need to be clear on this. But when you forcefully take over someone elses house and their land, you will expect resistance. The English proverb, don't prod the bear. You keep prodding, you're going to get resistance, you're going to get retaliation. That's what they're experiencing."
Was Hamas not in control of Gaza?
"How can Hamas be in control when they don't control the airspace, they don't control what comes in and out. They are in control on paper. How did Hamas come into control in the first place, was it not through elections? Why did Hamas get voted in? Because of that whole thing I've just mentioned two minutes ago, about resistance. They created this monster, they created it, the Israelis did. Benjamin Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon, these guys created Hamas because they didn't agree with Yasser Arafat or whoever it might have been. And us guys as the West have created Hamas. Why? Because our policies are not fair, they're not across the board. So when you're not being fair with people and you're not being reasonable then they go to extremes. And when Hamas won the elections if we talk about we want to import democracy into Iraq and Saddam Hussain wasn't democratic and nor were Col. Gaddafi, ok, so the Palestinians voted in Hamas, accept it then. Accept it for what it is. You can't have it two ways. You can't say you're for freedom, democracy and justice but then when they elect someone we don't like so then we can't accept it. It doesn't work like that."
So do you think we should not be involved in any international wars?
"We have to be, because we are one of the leading nations of the world. But we have to be consistent and be fair. Even with Ukraine, I feel sorry for the Ukrainians, but at the same time why did Russia, why have they invaded? Because they don't want the UN or NATO forces on their doorstep, because NATO considers Russia to be a rogue. So I'm living next door to you, we've got a joint garden fence, and you keep thinking because goes to the gym you're thinking 'he's going to break the fence', eventually I break your fence. Are you going not going to retaliate? Of course you are, that's what Russia's done. I'm not saying they're right or wrong, but that's what Russia's done. And the minute we wake up to it and stop listening to the mainstream media, and start reading up on it ourselves, we'll understand why the problem has come to England, why the problem has come to America, why the problem has come to the Western countries, because we're meddling in things and we're not being fair. And most white people would agree who have read up on this stuff."
You've identified problems in Pendle, what can you realistically do about it?
"Well the fact that I'm bright enough to know what the problems are should tell you that I would look for solutions wouldn't it? I'm not blinkered thinking that we're living in a nice world and the future is bright and the future is orange, because it certainly isn't from where we're sat and what we're looking at. Not only is the weather dreary, but you just look around the area to see it. You've got to collaborate with other people. You don't have to agree with their viewpoints, but you have to get rid of your ego and work with other people. It's about co-existence and co-working. I've got to work with Craig McBeth even though I don't believe in his policies. Craig has to work with Zulfi because we both actually want the same things, we want the betterment of the area. What you've got at the moment is a two-party solution. Labour hate Tory and Tory hate Labour and they're just interested in power. Competition doesn't mean that you can't be collaborative, and there is no competition when you're after the betterment of society. I'm not here for myself and I'm not here for an ego, to say I'm the big main guy, certainly not, I'm a nobody. But what I know is, I know my area, and I know it well enough to know there's some serious issue here. Why is there no mixing of the races? Ok, you guys say we don't assimilate. We might say, well everything revolves around going to the pub. I've worked in law firms, everything does revolve around going to the pub, and sometime people might not feel comfortable with it. Some people might never have been to the pub, so we've got to look at both sides and be like 'we could be a little bit more accomodating here', and then we can think 'yeah, we need to be a bit more accomodating as well.'I'll give you an example, Nelson Town Centre Christmas lights. Seasons Greetings. When I was a kid it was Merry Christmas. We've never said it was offensive, because it ain't offensive to us, so keep it as Merry Christmas."
Surely someone does find it offensive, and you're just one person saying this?
"I don't think anybody does find it offensive, I think it's [white people] trying to be over accomodating and making up some idea, just like this grooming gang thing. Someone's decided we're not going to prosecute [the Rochdale Muslim grooming gangs] because they might be offended. Well tough luck. Nobody's above the law."
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