LONDON -

Immediately after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation from the leadership of the Conservative Party, expectations began about who would succeed him at the head of the party and government, and there were many names nominated for this position, and although the race for the premiership has not officially started, there is a hectic battle behind the scenes led by some leaders of the Conservative Party. To garner as much support as possible for her candidacy.

And most opinion polls in Britain agreed that 3 names came to the fore in the list of personalities nominated to succeed Johnson, and then other figures who may have a role in the competition for the Conservative leadership.

According to the latest poll conducted by You Gov, 3 candidates have the most support in the British street, and it comes to Defense Minister Ben Wallace, who tops the list with a popular support rate of 13%, and then the Secretary of State for Trade. Foreign Ministry Benny Mordaunt, which comes in second place on the list of popular support with 12%, then in third place, Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak with 10%.

There are candidates, but they remain less fortunate, including Secretary of State Liz Truss, the senior leader of the Conservative Party Jeremy Hunt, the other leader Michael Cove, and the current Minister of Justice Dominic Raab.

By looking at the record of the strong names nominated through their positions on the issues of Muslims, immigration and refugees, we will find that there are discrepancies in some files and similarities in others, and we will review some of them.

British Defense Minister Ben Wallace represents the most hardened and conservative face within the party (Reuters)

Minister talking to Muslims

Benny Mordaunt is considered one of the leading figures in the Conservative Party, and has risen in many ministerial positions to the point of holding the position of Minister of Defense, and she is very popular at the popular level and is known for her rebellion against the government of Boris Johnson.

Among the steps that this minister was daring to take was holding a meeting with Zara Muhammad, head of the Islamic Council of Britain last year, after more than 12 years in which successive British governments decided to sever the relationship with the Council.

Despite the severe criticism that rained down on the minister from the hard-line movement in the Conservative Party, she insisted on her position and published a picture of her with Zara Muhammad on her official account.

Benny is also among the conservative leaders who were rebellious against the laws of the Boris Johnson government related to immigration, especially what is known as the "Nationality and Borders" law, which severely restricts refugees and their access to asylum in Britain.

Going back to Benny Mordaunt's history of voting on this law in the House of Commons, she has voted against it at all stages of its debate, and she also opposes the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda.

stern minister

The British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace is considered the most hardened and conservative face within the party. He represents the traditional trend within the Conservative Party, and his popularity has increased thanks to the decisions he took to increase military spending, generous support for the Ukrainian army, his plans to counter Chinese influence, and his success with the Americans in winning and extracting the Australian nuclear submarine deal. from the French.

Ben Wallace is considered one of the most hard-line figures on the issue of immigrants. Even before he became a minister, he was always in favor of any law or decision that limits the influx of refugees into the country. He supports the "Nationality and Borders" law and calls for more strictness in border control to prevent the flow of refugees across the sea.

Ben Wallace shuns political populism, and is known for his sobriety in statements even as Johnson's security minister.

He was also known, during his tenure of the security portfolio, for his strictness in the face of the extreme right. He was the first to sound the strongest alarm, warning of the possibility of Muslims being exposed to major attacks from the extreme right, and he led security operations against this trend that led to the arrest of a number of its members.

Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak is one of the leading candidates to succeed Johnson (Reuters)

Minister of Finance and Interests

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak shined within the Conservative Party during the Corona epidemic, at that time there was a popular celebration of his performance and decisions through support for the poor class, support for workers and a number of tax breaks.

Going back to the history of Rishi Sunak voting on immigration and refugee laws, this Indian-origin politician has always been a supporter of any law that reduces the number of immigrants to the country, as well as being tough on the issue of receiving refugees.

During his leadership of the Treasury, which is the second most important ministry after the prime minister, he granted a lot of funding to all efforts to prevent the arrival of refugees through the sea canal.

party creed

Many accusations have been leveled against the Conservative Party of being an "unfriendly" party for Muslims in Britain, and there are accusations that it covers up the growth of Islamophobia within its ranks, especially when the Muslim MP for the party, Nusrat Ghani, detonated a heavy-caliber bomb and revealed the refusal of her colleagues to become a minister because she is a Muslim.

So far, the leadership of the Conservative Party still says that it will open an investigation into Islamophobia in its ranks, but without announcing the results, and there is a current that says that feelings of Islamophobia have grown with the arrival of Boris Johnson to the leadership of the party, while another trend is pushing the fact that this phenomenon is not linked to a specific person but to party processed.