General Election 2015 race starts

Will BME voice be heard?

Today was the official starting gun for the 2015 General Election. The most closely fought contest for a generation. It is so close to call, that even with a likely Coalition Government, who will lead that Coalition Government no-one knows .

For us at OBV our priority has been to ensure our voices are heard in this election debate. Our aim is to target more than a million BME voters and collectively demand that all parties have an effective plan to tackle institutional race inequality. On the ground we have been successful in energising and empowering our communities. That will and must continue, but at the same time we must ensure the political parties hear us and effectively respond.

To date the national political/media conversation has been dominated by a toxic immigration debate, which always carries a subtext of anti-Black and anti-Muslim rhetoric. The battle over the NHS has been writ large too. But as the election gun is fired, the issues around the ‘grey vote’ - pensioners have been placed high upon  the political agenda. Why? It’s simple. Every political party knows that pensioners are more likely to vote than anyone else.

The BME vote could be, should be absolutely crucial, given that we  could decide over 168 marginal seats.  But that will largely depend upon us, and our ability to get our voices heard. 

To help us make that happen we need your support and above all we need you to register to vote and download the UK’s first voter registration app from ITunes app store and Google Play. Alternatively scan this QR code.

Remember this is our time to make a positive, decisive impact during this closely fought Election debate. Here we reclaim democracy and demand greater social and racial justice.

Simon Woolley