In this blog, I will discuss the need for more representation in politics in the UK today. When i say ethnic minorities I mainly focus on anyone other than ‘White’ or Irish traveller. The number of people participating in politics from ethnic minorities has increased over the years and so has their engagement. But still, even today The number of people from ethnic backgrounds in such jobs is lower than that of the general population (Uberoi and Lees, 2022)  

WHAT IS A ETHNIC MINORITY?

We can use the terminology “ethnic minority” to refer to all ethnic groups excluding white British. Examples of some ethnic groups are :

• Arabs
• Asian or Asian British people.
• Black or Black British people.
• People of mixed heritage

Whilst there are almost 18 ethnic minority examples in the UK, those above are some of them.

The number of Parliamentarians from minority ethnic origins has increased from four in 1987 to 65 in 2019. Nevertheless, if the House of Commons mirrored the UK population aged 16 and up (13% from minority ethnic origins in 2021/22), there would be roughly 85 (Sturge et al.).

If you look at the graph below, you can see the numbers of how many MP’s voted within politics increased over the years. In 1987, only four MPs out of 650 were from ethnic backgrounds. These people were called the first black MPs Diane Abbott, Bernie Grant, and Paul Boateng. Keith Vaz was the first Asian member elected for nearly sixty years when he was elected alongside his colleagues in 1987 (UK PARLIMENT,2022). This gives us the idea of the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities as a whole as there are only four mp’s starting out in 1987. Years before that there was no one of ethnic background running for MP since 1929.

(Sturge et al.)

In the eyes of houses of parliament, they claim that asking somebody about their ethnic background when enrolled is not required therefore it’s difficult to establish how many people of ethnic minorities are involved within politics however those who are in that field have a difficult time. 92% of ethnic MPs claimed their ethnicity made it more difficult for them to enter parliament, while 83% said it made their work more difficult. According to the poll, 83% had encountered racism from the general population (Walker Political). This gives us the idea that institutional racism exists and sadly is not spoken about enough.  Like already it is very difficult for social mobility as a person of color but they have the added pressure of handling racism within the workplace. 92% being nearly all of the ethnic MPs feel the same way meaning it happens to near enough everyone. That is very sad. Being an ethnic person in the UK means working extra hard compared to the white British people who most likely have support from family members or have connections in that field of work. Therefore people of color have worked so hard in the past to even receive a little bit of recognition and things still haven’t changed. There still is institutional racism from the system but also from work colleagues or the general public.  

This picture gives support to the idea that involvement with ethnic minorities keeps increasing year by year however it also gives insight into what parties people participate in. From looking at the statistics you can argue that the majority of ethnic groups run for labour parties. Labour party resonates a lot with ethnic background people as labour party has a long history of fighting for the rights and equalities of BAME members. 2019 had the most percentage of votes and seats as Labour’s Race and Religion Manifesto was launched by Jeremy Corbyn. It places equality at the centre of our government’s agenda and will begin to rectify the wrongs against people who are still treated unfairly because of their race, ethnicity, or religion (“BAME Communities and the Labour Party”).  

Ethnic minority British people feel underrepresented and also feel as though the majority of MPs don’t represent the wider population. As Britain’s first racial minority prime minister, Rishi Sunak, a new YouGov poll of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic individuals indicates that the majority (59%) believe MPs are not reflective of the larger community (Raven and Abraham).This may be because the number of people of colour in politics is so low that they believe they are anomalies in the workplace, or it could be because institutional racism is so prevalent. About 28% believe there is no difference in ethnic minority representation in parliament and that it may have deteriorated due to a little adjustment.

 We should begin speaking out against institutional racism as well as bullying from those within politics. It has been quite difficult to have any sort of role in the Kingdom as a collective minority and yet make an impact. We should be advocating equality and involving more members of ethnic minorities. With the first four ethnic MPs elected in 1929, we should not stop there.

Labour parties advocate empowering all individuals, regardless of skin colour or religion, but there are some who vote to further separate us and make us hate each other. The number of MPs, campaigners, and leaders should grow, with ethnic minorities taking the lead and not backing down. I think that we all have a voice and should express it. Underrepresentation should motivate us to get active and improve the world one day at a time. Do not allow other people’s voices to overpower us.

 

REFERENCES

“BAME Communities and the Labour Party.” The Labour Party, labour.org.uk/members/take-part/bame-communities/. Accessed 19 Mar. 2023.

Raven, Peter, and Tanya Abraham. “Majority of Ethnic Minority Britons Don’t Feel That MPs Are Representative of the Wider Population | YouGov.” Yougov.co.uk, 28 Oct. 2022, yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/10/28/majority-ethnic-minority-britons-dont-feel-mps-are.

Sturge, Georgina, et al. “Ethnic Diversity in Politics and Public Life.” Parliament.uk, 30 Aug. 2022, researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN01156/SN01156.pdf.

Uberoi, Elise, and Rebecca Lees. “Ethnic Diversity in Politics and Public Life.” Commonslibrary.parliament.uk, Sept. 2022, commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01156/.

UK PARLIMENT. “The First Asian and Black Parliamentarians.” Online Exhibition: Pioneers, heritagecollections.parliament.uk/exhibits/pioneers/. Accessed 20 Mar. 2023.

Walker Political, Peter. “Most BME MPs Have Experienced Racism in Parliament, Study Finds.” The Guardian, 17 Feb. 2020, www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/feb/17/black-minority-ethnic-mps-racism-in-parliament-study.