At a time when many are bemoaning the identical-looking chaps at the top of the dual-headed coalition that is now the Government, this week has seen the entry of Diane Abbott and Oona King into two big internal Labour Party races: the selection battles for Labour leader and London Mayor.
Both Abbott and King look quite unlike the incumbents of the offices to which they aspire. David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Boris Johnson hardly typify diversity.
If we get beyond the racially-coded clichés being bandied about by the media that the two newcomers will shake up the leadership and mayoral candidate selection by adding “colour” and “spice” to the proceedings, their entry can only be seen as a good thing.
While I recognise Abbott’s intervention may jeopardise the chances of John McDonnell’s name appearing on the ballot paper, in both cases there is the potential to make affairs usually fought over by activists and trade unions look exciting to the average Tom, Dick and Harriet – or Hapinder even.
How quickly it has all changed, with the kaleidoscope of British politics having received an almighty jolt. The 2010 election was unlike any other for many years. It now seems that the campaign, which I fought as a local council candidate, happened aeons ago – although it was only three weeks.
Now that the uncertainty over the outcome is out of the way and the dust is settling to some extent in what has been the biggest turnover of MPs since 1945, among the facts emerging is that the current composition of the House of Commons is a landmark for minority representation. From there being no Asian women on the green benches there are now six – from both Labour and the Conservatives. Eighteen MPs from black and minority ethnic communities (BAME) should inject new blood into the proceedings. On this point, admirers of all-party agreements should note that Labour and the Conservatives have been on the right side. of the argument. The Liberal Democrats’ rhetoric of “newness” was unmatched with action on this front, resulting in a whiter-than-white parliamentary party – a scandal in the 21st century.
The new MPs have been returned to Westminster to sit for a geographical constituency, so they cannot just represent sectional communities. They might have an interest in particular issues, but they need to act on behalf of all their constituents – whether or not they voted for them. Years ago, Paul Boateng might have declared: “Brent South today, Soweto tomorrow”, but he was accountable to the former. The constituency subsequently represented by Dawn Butler recently evaporated in boundary changes. Disturbingly, the Tories have already announced plans for more
seat abolitions, which will hardly mean fairer representation.
So how can the numbers of BAME MPs receive a boost? The idea of BAME shortlists, raised by Harriet Harman when she was running for Labour’s deputy leader, if memory serves correctly, seem to have been largely forgotten.
The respected pressure group Operation Black Vote has suggested a parliamentary black caucus along American lines to address the issue.
This may appear attractive, but the launch of such a thing could turn out to be a waste of time. While talk of “change” is all the rage in the current political climate and the presumptions behind it of bi-partisanship might fit the congressional model in the United States, that is not how Westminster politics operates – whatever the pictures of the Cameron-Clegg love-in in the garden at Number 10 Downing Street might have you believe.
Also, the suggestion of a black caucus aggregates all ethnic minorities together. It is convenient shorthand, but this broad-brushed approach neglects the disparities and divergences between ethnic minorities. Attainment figures demonstrate that the Chinese do much better in education than, say, white working class boys, who under-perform relatively speaking.
Tribalism still rules the political culture of this country with its rigid party system. The election of black Tories may be encouraging, but I’d rather see Labour succeed and think I personally would be unable to agree with those Tories on the big political issues. People from the same ethnic background will not automatically advocate the same solutions to the huge problems facing our country. Politics is for all people. It should not be “balkanised” by pigmentation.
Rather than look for unrealistic panaceas, we need to work within existing structures to ensure an even better reflection of our society in Parliament. We may have reached a landmark with the number of BAME MPs, but it should not be a high watermark. The Conservatives and their allies want a cap on immigration, but there should be no cap on aspiration. Let us hope greater things are yet to come. As the old slogan has it, don’t get mad – organise.
