Councillor Daisy has an article on the Telegraph website
I became Britain’s youngest councillor at 18. This is how Labour betrayed mehttps://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/0 ... -semitism/Beneath the language of progressivism is a party still afraid to confront its own failingsWhen Keir Starmer suspended Jeremy Corbyn in 2020 over his response to the EHRC report, it felt like a step in the right direction. For those of us who had spent years hoping Labour would finally take anti-Semitism seriously, it offered a glimmer of hope that the party was changing.
I wanted to believe that the days of shrugging off racism, especially anti-Semitism, were behind us. That we were properly tackling the culture of bigotry that had been allowed to fester in our midst.
How wrong I was. Inside Labour, I came to learn that while the press statements had changed, the culture had not. I joined the party at 14. At 18, I became the UK’s youngest councillor. I believed Labour stood for justice, fairness and accountability. But, over time, I saw those values being traded in for vote counts and image management. Beneath the language of progressivism was a party still afraid to confront its own failings; a movement that prided itself on tolerance was still so intolerant.
In today’s Labour Party, even hinting at traditional values is enough to get you branded. Say something outside the orthodoxy, and suddenly you’re a bigot. You’re a problem. And no, I’m not denying there’s racism on the Right. Of course there is. But what people don’t talk about nearly enough is the racism that still exists on the Left. It hasn’t gone away. It’s just gotten better at hiding.
During my time with Labour, I learned very quickly that it doesn’t behave like a social justice movement. It operates like a mob. When I raised concerns about real safeguarding issues that affect vulnerable women and children, I was told to quieten down. “Think of the party.” “Protect our image.” That kind of thinking isn’t new. It’s exactly what allowed abuse to thrive in places like Rotherham. People stayed silent not out of ignorance, but out of fear.
When I proposed mandatory CCTV in private hire vehicles, something used by councils across the country, it should have been a straightforward policy. But it became a lightning rod. Not because of what I said, but because of who it might upset electorally. And then came the accusations. I was told, outrageously, that I was “targeting Asian Labour councillors.” That I was being racist.
Let me be very clear: I never once said, implied, or intended anything discriminatory. My only aim was public safety. But instead of engaging with the substance of what I said, members of my own party tried to discredit me.
Private messages show what was really going on. One councillor wrote, “We are now going to lose our councillors in Central, North and Park… All three wards are taxi driver heavy.” Another admitted I’d been “totally betrayed for votes.” Others said that I shouldn’t “have to put up with this kind of bullying.” But none of them said it publicly. I was left to face it alone. And then came the delays. The complaint I raised was shelved. Twice.
Sadly, this wasn’t the first time. I’ve heard anti-Semitic slurs in Labour spaces, and seen them go unchallenged. What about the things I didn’t hear? How deep does it go?
Everyone knows about Labour’s anti-Semitism scandal under Corbyn. But many assume it ended when the leadership changed. It didn’t. I still heard it in meetings. People who were suspended quietly returned. It wasn’t about justice, it was about allegiance. Anti-Semitism training didn’t fix this because the problem was never about ignorance. It was about willful avoidance.
The Forde Report talked about a “hierarchy of racism” inside Labour. They were right. Some forms of racism are dealt with. Others are ignored. The party wears inclusion like a badge, but that word means nothing if you won’t admit fault behind closed doors.
Since my resignation, Baroness Louise Casey’s national audit on group-based child sexual exploitation has vindicated those concerns. Her report explicitly highlights the crucial role of taxi CCTV and condemned authorities across the country for failing to act precisely on the issue I had raised locally. It noted that “taxis… facilitating exploitation” and lambasted the protection of image over safeguarding, stating that authorities had “looked the other way” and were deterred from acting by fears of being branded racist.
In other words, the Government has clinically confirmed what I and others have known: delaying or cancelling CCTV measures for fear of electoral consequences allows harm to continue unchecked.
Peterborough and, I might add, many other councils now have the opportunity to act on these findings. But that will require courage, transparency and genuine accountability rather than more whispers about “protecting the image” of the party. Labour said it had changed. My experience shows it hasn’t.
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