The power of the Migrant vote!

Never mind Ukip, what about the migrant vote? A new report by the Migrant Rights Network group clearly demonstrates that those individuals living abroad but have the right to now vote in the 2015 General election could be a critical element in deciding who wins and who loses this May’s General Election.

This data along with OBV’s very own data –The Power of the Black Vote – makes a compelling argument both for BME communities to register to vote, and for political parties to recognise that in an election that will be one and lost in the margins a plan to tackle race inequality is longer an option.

The report’s authors say the growing significance of the “migrant vote” is being largely ignored by the main parties and widespread anti-immigrant rhetoric risks alienating this key constituency for generations.

Migrant voters are almost as numerous as current Ukip supporters but they are widely overlooked and risk being increasingly disaffected by mainstream politics and the fierce rhetoric around immigration caused partly by the rise of Ukip,”

said Robert Ford from Manchester University, the report’s co-author.

Britain is more than ever an outward-facing, globalised country with a huge, hardworking, mobile electorate born overseas.”

The study says that although migrants will not vote as a bloc, previous patterns suggest they are likely to prefer parties viewed as positive about race equality and immigration – and are likely to turn their back on those engaged in hostile denunciations of migrants.

The potential for the BME vote has never been greater. At last week’s launch of OBV’s 2015 General Election campaign, veteran civil rights leader Rev Sharpton said:

Our communities clearly have the power, the only question is will we use it”.

In the weeks ahead OBV will embark on our most ambitious project to date with our national voter registration bus tour. Our goal is to reach a million people with a clear message: We register to vote and demand greater social and racial justice.

Simon Woolley