THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
Bal Ram Sampla
Geopolitics
The suspension of Will Jackson, a Conservative Party candidate for the North Harrow ward in London, has cast a harsh light on the party’s internal vetting processes and its capacity to uphold basic standards of decency in public life.
Jackson had been selected to stand in the Harrow Council elections on 7 May 2026, but was suspended by party leader Kemi Badenoch after a Byline Times investigation uncovered a series of deeply offensive posts on X (formerly Twitter), sent from an account linked to him over a period of several months. The account has since been deleted.
The posts in question were not ambiguous or borderline — they were explicit, targeted, and racist. Jackson directed messages at several British Asian MPs, telling them to “go back to Pakistan” or “go back to Bangladesh,” despite the fact that every one of the MPs targeted was born in Britain.
Lancashire-born Adnan Hussain MP was told “we need to bully you back to Pakistan” and referred to as “Islamist scum.”
London-born Apsana Begum was repeatedly told to “go back to Bangladesh.” Birmingham-born Zarah Sultana was not only told to leave the country but was also called for deportation.
The posts extended beyond Asian MPs — separate messages questioned whether boxer Anthony Joshua and singer Dua Lipa, both British, were truly British at all.
What makes the scandal particularly striking is the context in which Jackson had been selected to stand. Harrow is one of the most ethnically diverse boroughs in England, where over 45 per cent of residents identify as Asian or Asian British according to the 2021 Census. A significant number of Conservative councillors in the borough are themselves of Asian heritage. That a man apparently holding such views could be selected to represent a community he appeared to hold in such contempt raises serious and uncomfortable questions.
Those questions have been asked loudly. Gareth Thomas, Labour MP for Harrow West, raised the matter in Parliament, expressing shock that Jackson had reportedly told British-born politicians like Rishi Sunak and Shabana Mahmood that they were “not British.” Labour councillors in Harrow described the posts as “discriminatory and racist” and pointed to Jackson’s successful passage through the Conservative Party’s vetting process as a “major concern.” A Labour London spokesperson was blunter still, calling the posts “vile, racist and utterly disqualifying,” and stating plainly: “Telling British MPs to ‘go back to Pakistan’ is naked racism, full stop.”
The Conservative Party’s response was swift. A spokesperson described the comments as “wholly unacceptable,” confirmed Jackson’s suspension pending investigation, and announced that support for his campaign had been withdrawn with immediate effect.
Yet the party’s speed in acting once the story broke does not fully address the more troubling underlying question: how did Jackson pass vetting in the first place? This was not his first attempt at elected office — he had stood as a Conservative candidate in the Harrow on the Hill ward in 2022 and for the London Assembly in 2024.
The Jackson affair is, an isolated incident involving one individual whose views are plainly incompatible with public office. But it also sits within a broader and well-documented pattern of questions about race and the Conservative Party, from historic controversies to more recent debates about institutional culture. The fact that a candidate “espousing such views could be selected to stand in one of Britain’s most diverse communities suggests that the party’s vetting mechanisms may be less robust than they should be”.
Ultimately, the episode is not just about Will Jackson. It is about what standards political parties hold themselves to when selecting candidates, how seriously they take the responsibility of representing diverse communities, and whether the machinery of internal scrutiny is truly fit for purpose. In a borough where nearly half the population could have been targeted by the sentiments Jackson expressed, the people of North Harrow deserved better than to have such a candidate put before them.
References
1.https://www.easterneye.biz/tory-candidate-suspended-after-racist-posts-targeting-asian-mps/
2.https://bylinetimes.com/2026/04/13/conservative-candidate-tells-british-mps-to-go-back-to-pakistan/
3.https://harrowonline.org/2026/04/17/harrow-conservative-candidate-suspended-by-party-after-racist-social-media-posts/
4.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racism_in_the_British_Conservative_Party
