Press Release: Labour champions All Black shortlists

Labour have been under some pressure to effectively respond to the growing disquiet among Black party members that BME candidates are not being selected to fight winnable seats.

In the last three months only two BME candidates have been selected to fight winnable seats: Rushanara Ali in Bethnal Green and Bow and Yasmin Qureshi in Bolton South East.

This compares to Six – Priti Patel, Shaun Bailey, Emmanuel Wilfred Jones, Alok Sharma, Zahid Iqbal, and Paul Uppal - in the Conservative party. There are none in the Liberal Democrats.

OBV Director Simon Woolley stated that: The facts cannot be ignored. Nearly all-white democratic institutions have been the number one reason why so many Black people don’t vote. At the present rate Westminster will not be remotely representative for another 100 years. Are we really saying this is acceptable? Our task is to show how it can be done. It is the Governments task to politically pave the way, and then the local parties will have it as an option to redress their imbalance.

OBV Assistant Director Ashok Viswanathan stated that: Past election results reveal 80% of BME’s that do vote support Labour, and 10% Lib Dems and 10 % Conservatives. However, 50% of the adult BME population are not voting at all. Dragging politics into the 21st century is critical to bring these voters back and also to the legitimacy and relevance of our democracy. Black representation and institutions that look like the people they serve are necessary to restore peoples faith that politics can make a difference.

Notes to the editor:

1. OBV is currently running internships for both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives and advising on recruitment of BME members.