News

It's time for our communities up and down the country, and north of the border in Scotland to vote.

Remember a No vote is a boost to the bigoted vote. Their collective vote is boosted when the overall turnout is low.

Above all, engaging in politics will of course focus on today, but it is also about what we do tomorrow, the next and thereafter.

Delivering greater race equality will only be driven by us.

Today let's show we care by going to the polls to vote.

Simon Woolley

As London gears up for its fourth Mayoral and Assembly elections on Thursday, and local elections are being held up and down the country, there will also be a number of referenda in ten of the twelve largest English cities on whether there should be directly elected Mayors.

This month, OBV have had the pleasure to work with students from B6 College in Hackney as they undertake a work placement at OBV. 19 year old Hanifi describes the importance of politics to him.

The Turkish community, faces the same lack of political representation that many other BME communities face.

The public meeting organised by JUST West Yorkshire in partnership with the Bradford Cathedral, the Common Good Network and the University of Bradford Student’s Union on the 30th of April 2012 highlighted the ambiguity that continues to hang in the public’s mind around the issue of an elected Mayor.

On behalf of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Commissioner Simon Woolley, who champions race, has been invited by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Right's Anti-Discrimination Unit to speak at the 11th Session on the Working Group (WG) on people of African Descent.

In a frank and honest omission, the Conservative party candidate for London Mayor admitted during The Voice newspaper round table discussion that LOCOG had not reached their targets in regards to finding jobs for Black Londoners or procurement contracts for Black businesses.

‘I’m really not happy about this, but I’m sure there are still some procurement opportunities’.

There are many reasons for engaging within the local elections and referendums for Mayors on May 3rd, not least issues around; policing, housing, education, health and transport. But there is also another fundamental reason why every decent citizen must exercise their democratic right this Thursday: The vile politics of racial and religious hatred must be defeated at the ballot box.

Next Thursday’s London elections are not just about the big battle for the Mayor. 25 Greater London Assembly seats are up for grabs.

As the UK celebrated St. George Day earlier this week, Patrick Vernon, CEO of the Afiya Trust reflects on who St George was and what he represents.

Last week, media attention focused sharply on the controversial staging of the F1 Championships in Bahrain, despite continued protests over human rights abuses. Sports and politics inevitably entangle and this week Fevzi Hussein, Cyprus Star columnist and human rights activist, looks much closer to home at the 'Scandal of the London 2012 Olympics? '