LONDON, 2 May 2005 — As the most recent surveys in Britain put Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party ahead of its main rival, the Conservative Party, in the-run up to the general elections, Muslim voters are confused about how to vote.

Traditionally, the majority of Muslims and other minority communities have voted for Labour, but since America’s so-called war on terror began and Tony Blair chose to take the country to war in Iraq, an increasing number of Muslims have parted ways with the party.

“I’ve always voted Labour,” says Siddiq Ehsan, a shop-owner in a predominantly Asian area of London, “but this time, I am not going to vote for Blair because he was absolutely unjustified in taking the country to war in Iraq.”

Ehsan is not alone in losing trust in Tony Blair. There are many other Muslims in the country who share similar feelings about the Labour Party.

“I used to think Labour was a progressive party with high moral values but the recent past has shown something different,” says Hassan Al-Sharif, an IT consultant from Manchester. “Now I can’t see a difference between Labour and Conservative.”

Conservative leader Michael Howard made his most vicious attack yet on Blair yesterday as opinion polls showed him floundering in his bid to oust the prime minister in the May 5 election.

Despite Howard’s attempts to capitalize on Blair’s credentials, most Muslim voters still believe he is worst of the two.

“The way he (Howard) is attacking the asylum-seekers and the asylum system throughout his campaign is very much like playing in the hands of racist groups and white supremacists,” said Abdullah ibn Hussain, a resident of sprawling Edgware Road area of London, where a huge Arab population resides.

Abdullah ibn Hussain is of the opinion that Howard’s rhetoric could inflame racial and ethnic tensions among the communities.

Immigration dominated campaigning this past week as Blair accused the Conservatives of “exploiting” public concern about the scale of the influx of foreigners into the country.

The Conservatives plan an annual limit, set by Parliament, on the number of immigrants allowed into the UK and pledge to process claims for political asylum in unspecified overseas nations.

“It is the duty of government to deal with the issues of both asylum and immigration,” Blair said late last month in a speech to ruling Labour Party supporters in the southeastern coastal town of Dover, an entry port for immigrants. “But they should not be exploited by a politics that in desperation seeks refuge in them.”

The latest opinion polls put Labour on track for a third term in office.

A survey for the Sunday Times newspaper by YouGov predicted Labour would take 37 percent of the vote, the opposition Conservatives 33 percent and the Liberal Democrats 23 percent.

A separate poll by ICM in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper put Labour at 39 percent, the Conservatives at 33 percent and the Liberal Democrats at 21 percent.

The Conservatives are stressing Iraq is an issue of trust in Blair since their support for the war makes it difficult for them to capitalize on Blair’s woes over the conflict.

The Liberal Democrats, the third largest party, look set to gain the most votes from the Iraq issue after consistently opposing the war. Because of the Liberal Democrats’ strong stand against the war in Iraq and a softer approach toward the asylum debate, most Muslim voters feel naturally close to the party. They want to vote for the Liberal Democrats, but they have a fear of “wasting” their votes, thus indirectly helping Conservative Party to gain.

“I’d love to vote for the Lib-Dem candidate in my constituency, but the point is that there is little chance of his winning, and if the Labour vote is divided, the Conservative candidate might win,” said Khaled Mahmood, of Sydneham, a suburban area of Southeast London.

Now most Muslim voters face this dilemma. They don’t want to vote for the Conservative Party; their trust in the Labour Party is shaken, and they want to give a chance to the Liberal Democrats but because they have a fear that by doing so they could help Conservative party, they probably will opt for Labour.

“It’s a ‘Catch-22’ situation,” concludes Khaled Mahmood. “We are basically stuck for the time being.”