Maajid Nawaz Speaks To The Man Trying To Unseat Boris Johnson

3 November 2019, 18:03

Ali Milani is the 25 year-old man running as a Labour candidate against Boris Johnson in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

In a wide-ranging chat, Maajid Nawaz and Milani discussed unseating the Prime Minister, the odds of him winning and making anti-Semitic comments in the past.

Maajid Nawaz asked what would happen if Boris Johnson didn't win their local constituency.

Milani said: "I think one of the extraordinary things about our campaign in Uxbridge and South Ruislip is that if there is any single seat in this election that can say that they can dramatically change the course of this country and the future of this country, it's Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

"So what we're aiming to do is exactly as you say, become the first seat in British democracy history to unseat a sitting prime minister.

"Essentially what that would mean is, if there is one way to guarantee that Boris Johnson will not be prime minister, will not be an MP and will not be involved in the future of politics in this country, that's by beating him here in Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

So, in answer to your question, essentially what it would mean is Boris Johnson, unless he gets moved to the House of Lords which would be quite unlikely given given the fact that he would have lost the seat, he would no longer be able to be Prime Minister of this country."

Maajid asked why he wouldn't just be appointed to the House of Lords.

Milani told Maajid "how dramatically humiliating it would be for the Prime Minister to lose their own seat."

Maajid pointed out that the majority he holds in that seat is 5034 votes which "is not really that much". He asked what his chances are now of beating the Prime Minister.

Milani said: "We only need a 5 per cent swing in Uxbridge and South Ruislip to win the seat. The polls are all showing a two horse race between myself and Boris.

"Obviously when you include the Brexit Party as you as you put in the beginning of the segment, things become clear and we we actually go into the lead when the Brexit Party are involved.

But even if the Brexit party isn't, in the polling that we have that's just a head to head race between Boris and myself, it's all or has been within the margin of error for us to win."

Maajid pointed out that the Brexit Party have entered a former Tory into the race, which could mean he "genuinely has a chance of beating the Prime Minister."

Later in the conversation, Maajid asked him about remarks he had made but now apologises for.

Ali Milani said: "I tweeted a number of things that were anti-Semitic when I was between the age of 16 and 17, around that age, and you know, everything from tropes and jokes that were deeply inappropriate, anti-Semitic and wrong.

What I have been able to do since then, as well as apologise and reach out, sit down with the Jewish colleagues and friends. I was fortunate enough and really blessed to be taken to Auschwitz and Birkenau to try and gain a broader understanding of what what impacts anti-Semitism has.

Maajid spoke of how he wasn't trying to "ambush him" because he too used to be an anti-Semite and is "regretful" of.

You can watch the entirety of the interview at the top of this article.