Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi
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Sayeeda Hussain Warsi, Baroness Warsi, PC (/ˈvɑːrsiː/; born 28 March 1971) is a British lawyer, politician, and member of the House of Lords who resigned the Conservative whip in September 2024. A former co-chairwoman of the Conservative Party from 2010 to 2012, she served in the Cameron–Clegg coalition, first as a Minister without portfolio between 2010 and 2012, then as the Minister of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (styled as "Senior Minister of State") and as the Minister of State for Faith and Communities She resigned from the government in August 2014 citing her disagreement with its policy relating to the Israel–Gaza conflict.
Warsi was raised in a family of Pakistani Muslim immigrants living in West Yorkshire. She became a solicitor with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). In 2004, she left the CPS to stand, unsuccessfully, for election to the House of Commons. After becoming a Life peer in 2007, Warsi served as Shadow Minister for Community Cohesion and Social Action. She became the first Muslim to serve as a Cabinet Minister.
Quotes
[edit]- [I] felt it was important as a Muslim to lend my voice to this fight against antisemitism.
We have only ever defeated intolerance when we have come together.
Antisemitism will only stop when all of us, whatever faith we belong to or none – oppose it and challenge it.- From a House of Lords debate on antisemitism, as cited in "Tonge blames Israel for Jew-hate... during debate on antisemitism", The Jewish Chronicle (20 June 2019)
- The article's title refers to Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, the former MP and ex-Liberal Democrat.
- I'm really, really hesitant about making this Sayeeda v the Tory party.
- There is a lot of emotional attachment here. It's like a really painful divorce. It does feel like I'm in an abusive relationship at the moment, where I'm with somebody that I really shouldn't be with. It’s not healthy for me to be there any more with the Conservative party.
- [On Sajid Javid] He's chancellor of the exchequer. He's got the second or third most powerful role in government and he still doesn't feel like he can exercise power? I get this art of playing politics to get to a position where you're increasingly more powerful … but I think that politicians are so focused on amassing power that they forget about what they're amassing it for.
- From an interview, as cited in "Sayeeda Warsi on Tory Islamophobia: 'It feels like I'm in an abusive relationship'", The Guardian (27 November 2019)
- Sajid Javid had managed to gain agreement for an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party during the party's 2019 leadership election but, later, new prime minister Boris Johnson announced a "general investigation into prejudice of all kinds".
- Of course he should. If you can't call racism racism, if you can't call antisemitism antisemitism, and if you can't call Islamophobia Islamophobia, then how are we going to fix it?
- Cited in "Rishi Sunak urged to speak out by Tory peer as Islamophobia row deepens", The Guardian (25 February 2023).
- Asked if the prime minister should condemn the comments of the former Conservative deputy chairman Lee Anderson, who had lost the parliamentary whip for claiming the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, is controlled by Islamists.
- Every day before we start parliamentary business in the Commons and Lords we say a prayer and praise God – we say our parliamentary version of Allahu Akbars at the heart of democracy – a process Robert Jenrick is a part of. This language from Jenrick is more of his usual nasty divisive rhetoric.
- From a post on X, as cited by Jessica Elgot in "Robert Jenrick criticised for saying people shouting 'Allahu Akbar' should be arrested", The Guardian (7 August 2024)
- In Arabic, the phrase "Allahu Akbar" means "God is great". Following their defeat at the 2024 general election, Jenrick was a candidate in the Conservative Party leadership election.
- It is with a heavy heart that I have today informed my whip and decided for now to no longer take the Conservative whip. This is a sad day for me. I am a Conservative and remain so but sadly the current party are far removed from the party I joined and served in Cabinet.
My decision is a reflection of how far right my party has moved and the hypocrisy and double standards in its treatment of different communities.- From a post on X, as cited by Jessica Elgot in "Warsi resigns Tory whip, says party has moved too far to the right", The Guardian (26 September 2024)
