Tory M.P. threatens to quit over race issue

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON, APRIL 30. The Tory party was today headed for more trouble on the race issue as its most prominent black member, Lord Taylor threatened to quit protesting the leadership's ``soft'' line on racism.

Lord Taylor insisted that he could not afford to stay on in a party which harboured racist elements and accused the Tory chief, Mr. William Hague of being ``too frightened'' to take action against such members. If he does leave in the run-up to the general election in June and join Labour, as appears likely, it would be a blow to the party's bid to broaden its electoral appeal beyond its traditional white support base.

Lord Taylor, who has been demanding action against a fellow party M.P., Mr. John Townend for making racist remarks which have included a warning that unchecked immigration would turn Britain into a ``mongrel race'', was not mollified by the party's warning to Mr. Townend to shut up or face expulsion. He dismissed it as a ``pathetic'' response and an attempt to ``bury'' the row. He warned Mr. Hague that the race issue would ``end up burying his leadership'' if racism within the party was not put down with a heavy hand.

He was infuriated that while Mr. Townend was being allowed to get away with his racist posturing, he had been summoned by the party's chief whip in the House of Lords following his criticism of Mr. Hague. He had also been advised to stop criticising the party leadership.

Lord Taylor's ultimatum brought to a head the crisis in the Tory party over its policy on immigration and asylum - the only two issues on which it believes it has struck a chord among grass roots voters, many of whom are genuinely concerned that the country is being swamped by too many outsiders.

Mr. Townend has claimed that his warnings over unchecked immigration and asylum have gone ``down like a bomb in Yorkshire'', his parliamentary constituency and a random survey by the unabashedly pro-Tory newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph, reflected the unease on the issue.

The party is caught up between the electoral compulsions of broadening its constituency and its instinctive insularity - and hence the dilemma over how to deal with people like Mr. Townend and Mr. Christopher Gill, another M.P., who has caused outrage with his openly racist statements. A view in the party seems to be that by throwing out activists who are seen to represent grass roots sentiment it risks alienating its traditional supporters without gaining new voters.

The Times reported today that senior M.P.s who favoured decisive action against Mr. Townend were ``rebuffed because Conservative central office had received dozens of calls supporting Mr. Townend's views.'' The Tory leadership looked clearly split with ``liberals'' such as the party vice-chairman, Mr. Steven Norris pressing for a policy of zero tolerance on race whereas the hardliners favoured a more cautious approach lest it should provoke a white backlash. Mr. Hague himself is widely seen to be a liberal who has allowed himself to be stampeded by his right- wing advisers, resulting in speeches of the kind in which he accused Labour of turning Britain into a ``foreign land''. Lord Taylor, writing in The Times today, said: ``Mr. Hague even at this desperately late stage needs to exercise real leadership...(and) must change direction and tone on race relations.''

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