Blair legacy falls short in pledge to Black community

OBV credits Blair and the Labour Government for introducing the minimum wage, the race relations amendment act and the Lawrence Inquiry. All three of these it can be argued had a direct impact on the standard of Black people's lives and also in addressing fundamental inequalities in British society.

However, many in the Black communities concur that after the first term the Government lost initiative and courage to truly transform British society;

No legislation to tackle inequality in employment through affirmative actionNo legislation to tackle inequality in education such as black schools exclusions and university access; No targets for greater Black representation in parliament; The erosion of rights for Asylum seekers and refugees.

Furthermore, the invasion of Iraq in 2003 left a domestic agenda vacuum and draconian security measures including ID cards and anti-terror laws relegated equality issues to the backbenches and contributed to a rise in Islamaphobia and racism.

Ashok Viswanathan Assistant Director of OBV said: "Blair should be credited for The Race Relations Amendments Act and the minimum wage. But most critically it was the Lawrence Inquiry that will be remembered by Black communities. It helped fundamentally shape an understanding of racism and what it means to be Black in Britain today.

However, it is a great shame that since Blair gave his 1997 'Beacon to the World' speech lamenting the fact there were so few Black MPs, so little has changed. This inaugural speech gave many hope that there would be root and branch change through positive action policies such as women only shortlists, and that there would be a significant change in Black representation. A huge opportunity to transform politics in the 21st century has been lost and Black communities feel let down."