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The local elections saw strong OBV participation across the country. There were other notable victories for candidates from minority backgrounds in the UK. Here are some of the highlights.

Cllr Shaz Nawaz

Two participants from the March and April 2021 Pathway to Success cohorts have won seats in their respective councils.

Yetunde Adeshile ran as the Conservative candidate in Basildon’s Vange Ward. She received 749 votes, 101 more than the next-closest candidate, Aidan McGurran. Yetunde, a devout Christian, thanked God and said she felt “great and relieved” in the aftermath of her victory. 

Amidst the more heavily publicised mayoral elections in the capital and elsewhere, local level contests around the country are brimming with impactful stories. 

Anas Sarwar is preparing to lead from the front in what is his first huge test as the leader of the Scottish Labour party. Sarwar was elected in late February following the resignation of former leader Richard Leonard. In doing so, he became the first British Pakistani Muslim MP to lead a major political party in the UK. Both he and Scottish Labour head into the May 6 elections aiming to re-establish their place as Scotland’s second party after a disappointing showing in 2016 - but it will prove a hard task.

More than 136,000 people have now signed a petition calling for a memorial plaque to be erected on London Bridge in honour of Folajimi Olubunmi-Adewole, better known as ‘Jimi’.

For the third time since its 2019 inception, Stephen Lawrence day is being marked by the nation. 

It is a celebration of Stephen's life, a life that was cut short by a racist murder of a beloved son, on this day in 1993. 

'It was pivotal for me, my family, the world.' George Floyd’s brother Philonise Floyd spoke of the importance of last nights events which saw Derek Chauvin convicted of second - and third-degree murder charges, as well as second-degree manslaughter.

Further research is needed before the government can set targets to address disparities in Black maternal health outcomes, according to Health Minister, Nadine Dorries.

The response was given when pressed on the matter by the MP for Battersea Marsha de Cordova, and after the MP for Bath Wera Hobhouse queried whether communication issues left non-white Mothers without all their necessary choices. Dorries said that progress into the research on ‘near misses’ would allow for the government to begin to set targets.