This country is doomed

I was threatened with beheading, says MP ousted over Gaza stance
Kate Hollern reveals she endured ‘very distressing’ few weeks on general election campaign trail
Kate Hollern, who represented Blackburn from 2015 to 2024, lost her seat to Adnan Hussain by 132 votes
Credit: Instagram: katehollern4blackburn
Dominic PennaSenior Political Correspondent
09 January 2026 1:50pm GMT
A former Labour MP who lost her seat to a pro-Palestinian independent has said she was threatened with beheading before the general election.
Kate Hollern, who represented Blackburn from 2015 to 2024, said she had endured a “very distressing” few weeks on the campaign trail in the run-up to the vote 18 months ago.
Ms Hollern lost her seat to Adnan Hussain, one of five independents elected to the Commons on a pro-Palestinian ticket, by 132 votes.
Muslim voters deserted Labour in their droves after Sir Keir Starmer refused to back an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in the war that followed the Oct 7 attacks on Israel.
In an interview with Aleeza Isa, an independent Blackburn journalist, Ms Hollern said: “In fighting elections for 30 years, I have never experienced harassment, intimidation and bullying as I did at that election, and the weeks running up to it were very distressing.
“At one point I was told I was going to be beheaded. At another point I was told that I worshipped a false god.
“The tension was building, but it always does – but when somebody tells you you’re going to be beheaded and you see a picture of yourself on social media covered in blood, of course it worries you, of course it does. And when people are screaming at you that you have got blood on your hands, it is quite intimidating.”

In the constituency only 28% are Muslim.

That means 72% are non Muslim.

I doubt we'll ever have a breakdown of figures in terms of the religion of people who voted or not, but given that Greens won around 50% more votes than the nearest rival, AND the points raised here about Muslims potentially not liking some of the Greens policies, maybe - just maybe - this win wasn't just about Gaza?

My theory is that the muslim voters seek to dominate the Greens from the inside like the Tras did with gender woo. They will remove gender woo and replace it with completely pro Gaza.

It would be interesting to watch when that shit hits the fan.

I think there is some confusion over the priorities of the pro Gaza MPs and ‘support Gaza’. The Gaza MPs ran on a platform of only catering to Muslim priorities. They operate on their religious beliefs and not on representation of the variety of views of all their constituents.

There are many instances where ‘Muslim priorities’ are not compatible with our society.

They are projecting to be fully in charge of Birmingham (which some are already calling the Islamic centre of Britain) in the next election. That will not be good for non Muslims.

From an interview with Ayoub Khan (who was found to have falsely accused an opponent of electoral fraud in 2010):

At the next general election, in 2028 or 2029, Khan sees all Labour MPs in Birmingham being at “very high risk” of losing their seats.

“I’m fairly confident that we could see the loss of Shabana Mahmood, Tahir Ali, Jess Phillips, Liam Byrne and even Preet Kaur Gill. I can certainly see Independents getting those seats,” he claims.
Many Muslim candidates have run on a Gaza-Green ticket at local elections. Green councillor Mothin Ali, upon winning his ward in 2024, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and said the result was a “win for the people of Gaza”. (He later apologised.) But there are key political differences between the Green Party’s social liberalism and the more conservative views held by some of the Independent Alliance MPs.

The Greens have long been proponents of LGBTQIA+ rights, for example, and were early proponents of same-sex marriage. Asked if he supports that, Khan says: “My personal opinion as a Muslim is well-known. You only have to look at what other Muslims believe, what’s taught.” He adds that he would not dictate what people do in their personal lives.

‘Free mixing’ between men and women in some public spaces is another issue that has been raised by socially conservative Muslims such as Maheen Kamran, an 18-year-old elected as a Lancashire councillor in May. She told PoliticsHome her area could have “segregated areas, segregated gyms, where Muslim women don’t have to sacrifice their health”.

www.politicshome.com/news/article/ayoub-khan-lots-of-mps-in-talks-over-joining-independent-group

Hmm. Northern Ireland doesn't exist!

If fusion is to become a reality then losing hydrogen isn't something to worry about. Fusion could produce a huge amount of energy from a small amount of fuel.

Helium as a by-product is a good thing. We're running short on it. https://www.earth.com/news/global-helium-supply-running-low-race-is-on-to-prevent-the-next-shortage/

I can't think of another country in the world whereupon the idea of reducing taxation and illegal immigration (particularly when it's generally accepted as out of control) would be loathed.

I suspect the majority of people looking down their noses at Reform voters whilst whooping for the Greens have no in depth knowledge of either parties policies. For those who do, for every unwise Reform policy I'm confident there is an unwise Green policy that can be referenced. And anyone calling Reform 'extreme' right wing is essentially admitting that they are clueless to actual extreme right wingism.

I'm politically homeless, as it were. My preference would be a house full of independent MP's; for all I know it would be challenging, I'd still give it a go.

I think I'm just sick of seeing people being judgemental about the voting choices of others. I suspect it's just pomposity, a faux moralistic elitism from people who are probably on the bones of their arse.

😁I try.
I'm a wee bit concerned about the excitement over nuclear fusion when I hear that helium is lost through atmosphere to space. I can foresee an issue with wanging hydrogen together and consequently losing a vital constituent of proteins (structural & functional), carbohydrates (structural & functional), fats (more structural than I'd like but also functional) & of course water, from a relatively closed system, without a decay chain replacing it. But as you say, in the short term, all we can do is try to contribute (subjectively) positively, or perhaps 'first do no harm'.

Think they might have been referring this

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/01/09/i-was-threatened-with-beheading-says-mp-ousted-over-gaza/

There seem to be other results for threats against mps so not sure

Have you never heard of the Scottish National Party, Plaid Cymru or Sinn Féin then ?

They’re not the Gaza party- but why is Gaza even a threat? It’s literally a smoking hole in the ground at the minute- surely it’s normal that people think that’s wrong

that may be the case for "some" Muslims. Not any of the m=Muslims I know. And quite far from the "any" Muslims that were originally thrown about.

There are extremists in all directions. I generally not agree with anyone of them, nor do I take their views of representative of an entire spectrum of people.

Link r3 the beheading threat?

Maybe you’d like to listen to some Muslims themselves about their plans?

There maybe some confusion over what a ‘pro Gaza’ MP stands for. They stand on a platform to prioritise only Muslim interests. Sadly, there are some areas (child/forced marriage, certain profile of rape gangs, first cousin marriage, segregation, covering and often exclusion of even young girls) that are not compatible with the values of our society.

From the article:
At the next general election, in 2028 or 2029, Khan sees all Labour MPs in Birmingham being at “very high risk” of losing their seats.

“I’m fairly confident that we could see the loss of Shabana Mahmood, Tahir Ali, Jess Phillips, Liam Byrne and even Preet Kaur Gill. I can certainly see Independents getting those seats,” he claims.
Many Muslim candidates have run on a Gaza-Green ticket at local elections. Green councillor Mothin Ali, upon winning his ward in 2024, shouted “Allahu Akbar” and said the result was a “win for the people of Gaza”. (He later apologised.) But there are key political differences between the Green Party’s social liberalism and the more conservative views held by some of the Independent Alliance MPs.

The Greens have long been proponents of LGBTQIA+ rights, for example, and were early proponents of same-sex marriage. Asked if he supports that, Khan says: “My personal opinion as a Muslim is well-known. You only have to look at what other Muslims believe, what’s taught.” He adds that he would not dictate what people do in their personal lives.

‘Free mixing’ between men and women in some public spaces is another issue that has been raised by socially conservative Muslims such as Maheen Kamran, an 18-year-old elected as a Lancashire councillor in May. She told PoliticsHome her area could have “segregated areas, segregated gyms, where Muslim women don’t have to sacrifice their health”.

www.politicshome.com/news/article/ayoub-khan-lots-of-mps-in-talks-over-joining-independent-group

They don't believe that women should have single sex spaces, maybe?

Like I said, a true intellectual..lol

Firstsy, most polls indicate that those that left the traditional parties due to Gaza, did so in May 2024 election. Secondly, what are the Green's "Islamic stance"?

The above facts are just an inconvenience to bigots who can scapegoat a community..but that's not you right??

Good news anyone but Reform.

You are really reaching here.... from supporting ending the genocide in Gaza to Jews shouldn't exist at all. Jeez.

Quite.
I don’t understand either the claim of Zionism being bad.
Surely Jews have been made to feel unwelcome in so many countries sometimes violently, that the natural solution would be a country of their own where they can feel safe.
Yet they are not allowed to want or have that and are driven out of other countries.
Basically they should not exist at all.
Isn’t that the very definition of genocide.

Is it not more Islamophobic to believe that most Muslims support crossing into the country next door and killing 1200 odd civilians including children, kidnapping 250 more and strangling some babies? Just curious as to where the line lies.

~Well, sure, but what does that have to do with anything?

Speaking up against genocide may be seen as a "luxury" by you, I disagree. Anyway people vote for all sorts of reasons and all sorts of things will sway them. It's not really up to me or to you to decide what things people should or shouldn't vote on.

yes, the UK is doomed - if we get a reform govt at the next election. direly doomed.

4 Islamic MPs is "enough" 😂And you are really trying to maintain that you are not Islamophobic. Apparently approximately 6.5% of the British population identify as Muslim. If there were proportionally represented that would be about 40 MPs.

Weirdly, while accusing me of Islamophobia, you appear to have lumped the openly pro Gaza/Islamic MPs in with all other Muslims.

You do know that there are lots of other Muslim MPs? We’ve even got a Muslim Home Secretary in case you missed her? And not all of them agree with the pro Gaza/pro Islamic MPs?

How is it not islamophobic to not be able to imagine that ANY muslim might care about any of the other policies that the Greens may have and ONLY care about Gaza? That is, of course, an islamophobic generalisation.

Except that wasn’t what I said. I agreed with PP that generally people who follow a naturally socially conservative religion are less likely to be keen on the extremely so called ‘progressive’ policies of the Greens. It’s like you are trying to pretend that the religious beliefs of Muslims don’t exist - majority in favour of curtailing gay rights, sex segregation, subjugation of women through dress and social restrictions etc.

There are also the more extreme practitioners of Islam who support the 4 hardline Gaza/Islamic MPs. These MPs ran in a platform of only supporting Muslim interests. They do not support their non Muslim constituents. Many Muslim MPs have also voted against the rape gangs inquiry and against first cousin marriage. Bizarrely, 20 Labour MPs (possibly Muslim) petitioned the Pakistani government to build a new airport in Mirpur- the homeland of many of our Pakistani Muslim immigrants. I wonder why?

Before you start chucking around accusations of Islamophobia I’d have a bit more of a think.

This article gives more detail.

In these Labour heartlands, changing demographics have resulted in changing political priorities — and the size of the Muslim population has reached a critical mass, at which Muslim voters no longer need to press their concerns through a national party.
To some extent, this is nothing new. For decades, Muslim voters exercised disproportionate influence over our politics through the Labour Party. Through effective political organisation and lobbying, the Muslim community was able to make itself a core feature of Labour’s support in London, Birmingham and the post-industrial North. Muslim support for Labour candidates was rewarded, through Labour’s advocacy for the issues that matter to Muslims. In this sense, the Muslim voting bloc operated no differently to other special interest groups — much ink has been spilled about the Tory Party’s traditional reliance on the so-called “grey vote”.

thecritic.co.uk/how-the-muslim-vote-is-reshaping-british-politics/

As do I, but that is not the same as arguing you have a duty to vote for a ‘pro-Gaza’ party due to your religion. The Greens have issued leaflets specifically about helping ‘your brothers in Gaza’.

In any event, this is a U.K. election and no individual MP can do anything about the situation.

All Jews are blowing up children?