Last week it was reported in the press that the BME vote namely African and Caribbean and Indian voters were deserting Labour, however it would appear it was questionable where the support was going too, which is my view people were just not voting, the recent low turnouts speak for themselves..
The New Year's Eve article regarding Labour not embracing Ethnic Minority candidates is quite significant, especially taking into account the comments from David Lammy MP that Labour has to do better. One will argue that none of the political parties are in embracing the BME Community in terms of placing the candidates forward to Parliament, however the criticism of the Labour Party is not disproportionate in my view.
It may well have been forgotten that the BME community have been traditional supporters of the Labour Party since mass the immigration of the early 1950's into the UK.
Many of us were brought up on a culture of being told when we go to the Polling Station, we must vote Labour however the question is, has Labour ever really appreciated and embraced the political and economical support from the BME Community in terms of ensuring their selection of candidates for positions in decision-making tables.
Indeed the selection for many of the parties do speak for themselves and if we are not careful they could be a developing political apartheid which only fuels the mass disaffection of the BME community.
The main question is do political parties really want reflective governance, or is it the case hat many feel why bother as low turnouts are within their comfort zones why should mass turnouts be encouraged.
Unless there is a commitment towards reflective governance in the UK then there is a political timebomb waiting to explode in this country, should the political parties continue disregarding the ethnic minority community right to audience by having seats at decision-making tables.
After 50 years many Activists from all Political Parties can only name a handful of senior Politicians from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds.
Clearly it is just not good enough and consider this, if the public are unable to identify themselves with potential candidates then do they see any point in voting for the same old thing.
It is important to note also in the recent report in The Independent :
" Just one non-white candidate has been selected so far in the 34 seats where a sitting Labour MP is stepping down in the general election in May – the constituencies which should provide the best opportunities for the party to get new prospects elected.
By contrast, five Conservative associations among the 32 in constituencies where a sitting MP is retiring have chosen minority candidates."
May 2015 is going to be very interesting.
Please view the articles linked below:
Labour shuns Black & Asian Candidates in Winnable Seats The Independent 31.12.2014
Labours Crucial Ethnic Minority Vote Set to Collapse The Telegraph 24.12.2014
Is Labour losing the Ethnic Minority Vote?
Desmond Jaddoo
1st January 2015
The New Year's Eve article regarding Labour not embracing Ethnic Minority candidates is quite significant, especially taking into account the comments from David Lammy MP that Labour has to do better. One will argue that none of the political parties are in embracing the BME Community in terms of placing the candidates forward to Parliament, however the criticism of the Labour Party is not disproportionate in my view.
It may well have been forgotten that the BME community have been traditional supporters of the Labour Party since mass the immigration of the early 1950's into the UK.
Many of us were brought up on a culture of being told when we go to the Polling Station, we must vote Labour however the question is, has Labour ever really appreciated and embraced the political and economical support from the BME Community in terms of ensuring their selection of candidates for positions in decision-making tables.
Indeed the selection for many of the parties do speak for themselves and if we are not careful they could be a developing political apartheid which only fuels the mass disaffection of the BME community.
The main question is do political parties really want reflective governance, or is it the case hat many feel why bother as low turnouts are within their comfort zones why should mass turnouts be encouraged.
Unless there is a commitment towards reflective governance in the UK then there is a political timebomb waiting to explode in this country, should the political parties continue disregarding the ethnic minority community right to audience by having seats at decision-making tables.
After 50 years many Activists from all Political Parties can only name a handful of senior Politicians from Ethnic Minority Backgrounds.
Clearly it is just not good enough and consider this, if the public are unable to identify themselves with potential candidates then do they see any point in voting for the same old thing.
It is important to note also in the recent report in The Independent :
" Just one non-white candidate has been selected so far in the 34 seats where a sitting Labour MP is stepping down in the general election in May – the constituencies which should provide the best opportunities for the party to get new prospects elected.
By contrast, five Conservative associations among the 32 in constituencies where a sitting MP is retiring have chosen minority candidates."
May 2015 is going to be very interesting.
Please view the articles linked below:
Labour shuns Black & Asian Candidates in Winnable Seats The Independent 31.12.2014
Labours Crucial Ethnic Minority Vote Set to Collapse The Telegraph 24.12.2014
Is Labour losing the Ethnic Minority Vote?
Desmond Jaddoo
1st January 2015