David Cameron's Asian PM: Dream or reality?

David Cameron became the first UK Prime Minister to attend the GG2 Leadership awards this month, which honour high-achieving and influential individuals from minority communities.

As he addressed the audience at the event, Cameron congratulated his Culture Secretary, Sajid Javid, who was honoured at the event.

I am incredibly proud that number one on your power list is…the brilliant Asian man that I asked to join the Cabinet,”

said the PM. But as he acknowledged that there is still much more work to do along the lines of equality, Cameron gave the audience a glimpse of his envisioned future – a future that includes Asians and other minorities at the top levels of government and service:

And yes, one day I want to hear that title Prime Minister, followed by a British-Asian name - just not immediately if that's OK by you."

Although his joke about “not immediately” refers to Cameron’s desire to win the upcoming general election, it is also a telling statement.

Even if Cameron were to lose the party leadership, would an Asian be anywhere near the top of the line to succeed him? As the Washington Post points out, “Of the 30 names betting company Paddy Power lists as prime minister contenders after Cameron, just two belong to people of non-white backgrounds, both of whom are far down in the ranking: Adam Afriyie, a Conservative Party member of parliament…and Chuka Umunna, a Labour MP. There are no British Asian names on the list. And the leadership in all three major parties is still mostly a sea of white faces.

Sajid Javid is the only non-white member of the Conservative leadership team; Labour boasts only two BME MPs in its leadership, Umunna and Sadiq Khan; the Liberal Democrats have no BME individuals in their leadership at all. These numbers paint a rather bleaker picture than Cameron’s optimistic statement. It looks as though the UK is still many steps away from actually electing its first British Asian prime minister, or even any BME prime minister.

So what can be done to address this? Perhaps part of the answer lies in another quote from David Cameron’s speech:

When I hear those terms Your Honour, Brigadier General, Right Honourable, more often I want to hear it followed by a British-Asian name.”

Leadership for minorities at the top of all fields must be pursued, including the law, the armed forces, and of course Parliament itself. Furthermore, tackling persistant race inequality, which in turn would give greater access to better education, jobs and civic and democratic opportunties.

This more extensive approach to equality will ensure that in the next election, there will be more than two or three BME individuals in the leadership to choose from.

And despite the current lack of BME individuals in the top levels of government, the numbers could change quickly. Sadiq Khan, Shadow Secretary of State for justice, offered this bit of insight after Obama was elected in 2008. Washington Post quotes:

In Britain you can't make a brilliant speech and get noticed in the way Barack Obama did. You have to rise up through the ranks in parliament. Our history is different. Mass migration -slavery- took place to America 400 years ago. Condoleezza Rice is the fourth generation of her family to go to university. Our mass migration has only happened over the last 40 to 50 years. But our recent progress has been far steeper than in the US -- we have been much quicker."

So maybe, just mabye “not immediately” will come sooner than we think.

Ruth Hirsch