Braikest, health and Islamophobia .. files overwhelmed the election campaign in Britain

Al Jazeera Net - London

The curtain fell in Britain last weekend on the last election debate that brought together the leaders of the Conservative parties, Boris Johnson and workers Jeremy Corbin, and the electoral race is close to reaching its last station, as the British will vote next Thursday to elect a new parliament and form a new government.

Many British media and political commentaries described the current elections as one of the most important electoral entitlements in the country's history, and they have a lot of reliance to get the country out of the bottleneck and bypass the separation tunnel from the European Union called the Brexit acronym.

The British voter is aware of the importance of these elections, which made the volume of demand for registration in the electoral lists rise unprecedented, and 300,000 new people were registered in these lists in one day, a record not previously achieved.

Topics excluding others dominated the political debate throughout the campaign period, with which the size of the political and even popular division over many files appeared, particularly the Brexit, and the mutual accusations between the Conservative and Labor parties regarding anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, as well as fears of opening the door for American companies to invest in British health sector.

The Brexit impasse
The current elections find their reason for being in Britain's exit from the European Union, after the governments of Theresa May and Johnson were unable to find a way to fold pages of one of the most difficult crises the UK has known since World War II.

Many British opinion polls showed that the Brexit file has become the primary concern of voters, after the issue of improving health services was the first determinant of voting in Britain.

The parties entered the election campaign with varying positions towards dealing with this burning file, as the leader of the Conservative Party promises to complete the Brexit procedures by next year, whatever the circumstances, while waving the possibility of leaving without agreement, despite the warning of the British Central Bank that this option will have Economic consequences similar to those that occurred after the Second World War.

Parliamentary majority
Prime Minister Boris Johnson knows that there is no way for him to achieve anything other than obtaining a parliamentary majority, after he closes the door on any alliance with the right-wing populist party and the fierce defender of withdrawal from the European Union.

On the other hand, the Labor Party holds the stick from the middle in dealing with the exit of Britain from the European bloc, and in front of the criticism of the leader of the party Corbin that he has a hazy position on this issue, the latter has announced that he will stand on the sidelines if his party reaches the government, and organize a second referendum on the exit .

Corbin, on the other hand, talks about his party's availability of an alternative plan to re-negotiate with the European Union on different bases, but he rules out leaving without agreement because of its grave consequences from his point of view.

Semitism and Islamophobia
The competing parties spared no effort in exchanging accusations and pressuring the sensitive chord of their competitors. Hence the charges of anti-Semitism spread among the Labor Party, compared to the growing accusation of incitement against Muslims in the Conservative Party, and many observers believe that the matter reflects real concerns, far On the conflict imposed by the current political moment.

Many were surprised that Ephraim Murphys, the chief Jewish rabbi, interfered in political affairs. He implicitly warned against voting for the Labor Party and especially its leader, Corbin, relying on his position on the anti-Semitic charges against the largest opposition party, which was considered by many to be intercourse with religion in the conflict. Political.

On the other hand, the Islamic Council of Britain issued an angry statement accusing the Conservative Party of "denial, belittling and evasiveness" in dealing with the issue of Islamophobia, and the Council said that the Boris Party "does not see the existence of this type of racism" and has failed to take steps to address it.

Johnson pursued throughout the campaign the offensive statements he made against veiled women, when he described them as similar to mailboxes and bank thieves, as he was confronted on more than one television program with the magnitude of what he said against the veiled women.

In the first days of the election campaign, Johnson refused to apologize for statements against veiled women, but gradually and with the emergence of studies showing the importance of the Muslim voice in securing tens of seats, and the succession of accusations that Johnson was publishing a speech hostile to the Muslim minority, the latter retreated from his sharp stance, and apologized for insulting the right of veiled women.

Health system
It was no coincidence that the British health system file was placed on the top of priorities for the competing parties, as it is the second issue that attracts the attention of the British voter after the Brexit.

Each party tried to make unprecedented promises to advance this sector, as the Labor Party announced that it would allocate to the health a budget that had not been seen in the country before, in return the Conservative Party announced that it intends to increase the number of nurses by about 50 thousand.

But what has heated the political debate about the health file is the disclosure of documents for secret negotiations taking place between the British and American governments, in case the European Union is exited, and these documents that the Labor Party presented to the public opinion show that the Americans want to negotiate the investment file in the health sector, which is What is a red line for the British citizen, who is worried about hitting free treatment in his country.

Although US President Donald Trump denied his country's desire to invest in the health sector "even if they were presented to them on a silver platter," he said, doubts remain about an initial agreement between the Conservative government and the US administration to allow American drug companies to enter the drug market, which will lead To raise the prices of these drugs by about 200%, according to a study by the Labor Party.

The leaks dealt a heavy blow to the British government and shocked British people, who fear a loss of free health services.