Actress Glenda Jackson is retiring as Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn but the drama over her replacement is only just beginning. Last week Maajid Nawaz, the Lib-Dem candidate and chair of anti-extremism charity Quilliam, tweeted a picture of a cartoon from the popular atheist web comic Jesus and Mo. In reaction, a petition has sprung up to deselect Nawaz for being “disrespectful and offensive to the Muslim community” and Nawaz has received a series of online threats.
Simon Marcus, the Conservative candidate, has shown a rare and touching display of bi-partisanship. “Maajid should not stand down,” Marcus told the Londoner. “Freedom of expression within the rule of law is a cornerstone of our democracy.”
Unfortunately, this pair of freedom fighters looks unlikely to form a threesome anytime soon with Labour. Despite repeated efforts by The Londoner to establish her view on the controversy, aides of the Labour candidate Tulip Siddiq insisted she was “unavailable for comment”.
