Nick Clegg said in his keynote speech to Autumn Conference last year that his objective is:
A fair start for every child… we allow prejudice, tradition and class to crush a million hopes and dreams….that’s why I have been leading the charge for social mobility – for fairer chances, for real freedom.
Liberal Democrats want to see opportunity unconstrained by discrimination, and with equal life chances with respect to ethnicity.
The world has become a smaller place. Improving transport links and technological breakthroughs are drawing the people of the world closer together. In socially and racially diverse 21st Century Britain we need to give all our children every chance to make something of their lives. An understanding of and ability to seamlessly interact with those cultures that differ to their own is going to be vital for their own personal development.
The Olympics and in particular Team GB also offered a glimpse of modern Britain, showing just how the country has changed since London last hosted the Games in 1948.
As British Future pointed out,
In 2012, Team GB has changed, because Britain has changed. Over a third of the medals won by Team GB reflects the positive contribution which immigration and integration have made to British society.
I never imagined we’d see the whole nation cheering on a Somalian-born man called Mohammed to victory. Debates about whether we can be black and British are no longer an issue. We know the majority of British Black, Asian and other ethnic minorities feel very British. We can be sure, though, that the two gold medals won by Mo Farah almost certainly won’t change the way we talk about immigration overnight, or resolve public anxieties. We can also be sure that policy debates about multiculturalism will not easily be resolved.
Over the last couple of decades, good progress has been made in working towards race equality, but much remains to be done. Students from certain ethnic backgrounds are still more likely to have no or limited access to early years education, and are more likely to do badly at exams, still more likely to be expelled. Over 50% of 16-24 year old young black men, available for work, are unemployed.
Many Liberal Democrats feel that race equality still needs to be firmly on the political and social agenda. We cannot ignore the inequalities that still exist, and develop our policies as if there is a level playing field.
It is for this reason that with the support of our party leader, Nick Clegg, my colleagues and I established the Liberal Democrat Race Equality Task Force to look at ways in which the party can improve its level of understanding and policy development. We feel it is important that we have integrated policies to address many of the deep social issues and attitudes that exist in our society.
The Task Force focused particularly on education, because we see the formative years of a child’s life as the most important, where opinions and characters, and life chances are formed.
We have met with a number of educational experts, listened to their experiences, taken evidence, and considered their suggested solutions. Some of the concerns they highlighted are contained in this article. Now we want to hear what you think. Please feel free to respond online in the comments below or offline to Adam Pritchard in the Liberal Democrats’ Policy Unit who has been supporting our work. He can be contacted on [email protected]
The Lib Dems have always stood for justice, fairness and equality, so we must continue to lead the way on all aspects of equality and feel proud to reflect and represent our society as seen during the 2012 Opening Ceremony and within Team GB.
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34 Comments
Excellent points made! There will be a chance to air some of these issues at Conference in Brighton as EMLD is co-hosting a fringe event on “Improving Equalities in Education” on Monday 24th Sep evening at the Hilton Metropole at 6.15-7.30pm. We have managed to secure Brian Lightman of ASCL, Andrew Bridgeman, Chair of LDEA, Cllr Lester Holloway and Janet Clark, author of a new book on Restorative Justice in Schools as speakers on the panel. The fringe will now be chaired by Anuja Prashar, a member of the Equalities taskforce mentioned by Meral.
Well said Meral! The Olympics and Paralympics was a measure of how Britain can combine patriotism and diversity in a manner that must embarass the Daily Mail’s stiff, angry and paranoid brand of ‘national pride’. The challenge is to turn acceptance of multiculturalism into practice and reality to address the reality of race inequality throughout life. The Olympic experience should embolden us, as Liberal Democrats, to go further and faster with intiatives to heal the scar of inequality, throwing off the fear of backlash from the Right.
I have been working on the subject of child access, and you may think it is strange to add this one to the excellent article as another thought. Children, who are part of an international parentage, have the added extra, they have two cultures.
It is with both cultures they are able to appreciate the fact they can have two languages, and understanding that as a child of international status they are part of a larger family. This was one thing I found out, children accept the language and cultures without a second thought. I felt that this is positive, and most certainly except the fact that one of my grandchildren will write an email to me in two languages, Half in one language and the other half in the second language. So as a grandmother, I too follow and appreciate what this child has.
Mo Farrah is a one-off; charming, talented and hard-working, admired by most of his fellow countrymen and highly deserving of an important honour. Whether or not he gets one and what he gets will show how the government regards immigrants who attain success for Britain.
He is not the first, and certainly not the last, black citizen to perform brilliantly for their country. There’s no shortage of black gold-medal winners. Or of top footballers who have played superbly for England, from Viv Anderson, John Barnes and Rio Ferdinand, to name huge talents, to those providing a majority of today’s team.
But their enthusiastic acceptance by much of the public still doesn’t change the uglier face of racial prejudice, intended or unintended.
If you are a black youth you are more than 11 times more likely to be stopped and searched. Or have a one-in-two chance of being unemployed. If you are black of most ages, you have a far greater chance of dying at the hands of the police. The list goes on.
But your chances of being elected to public office are so much lower. We have had one non-white MP in 130 years. And Parmjit Singh Gill MP was treated disgracefully by party HQ, largely starved of funds and outside support when he sought re-election. And even our own Federal Executive can still propose less-than-helpful, insensitive motions to conference.
We as a party have to make it a lot easier for BME candidates to be encouraged to stand, approved and selected. As the Tories, to their credit, did.
We must also encourage and applaud small groups and task forces concentrating on specific nationalities or policy areas to pursue the cause of greater understanding.
Ethnic Minorities Liberal Democrats (EMLD) is the authorised party body to represent and promote BME people to the party. And to campaign for represent the party to the 7-odd million non-white population. We welcome members of all colours, creeds, races and religions who care about achieving true equality within our richly diverse population to come and join us.
Visit the EMLD stand H14 at the Brighton conference, or contact [email protected]
Jonathan Hunt: “We as a party have to make it a lot easier for BME candidates to be encouraged to stand, approved and selected. As the Tories, to their credit, did.”
The Conservatives wouldn’t have changed if David Cameron hadn’t pushed from the top. While many Lib Dem constituencies probably wouldn’t be quite so impressed if Nick Clegg phoned them up recommending a particularly candidate the arguments are the same: We need an urgent image-change because our electability depends on it. If constituencies don’t realise how critical the situation is and are resistant of a top-down intervention then we need a new way. We have our “A-list” on the Candidates Leadership Programme but considering that our electoral prospects will reduce the number of realistically winnable seats and competition will be sky-high I’m not convinced this is enough. After every election we’ve said, okay let’s try something a bit different but nothing too radical like all-Black shortlists yet, let’s wait and see after the following election. And so it goes on. I believe it’s time to stop procrastinating and grasp the nettle if we are to avoid going around the same circle again while our reputation among Black communities goes even further down the pan. Let’s grasp the critical and desperate nature of our standing in the inner cities before it is too late.
@lester before we could have all black shortlists presumably we would have to change our Constitution to take this bit out “we reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation “
To be fair to the athletes in Team GB, it’s perhaps an unwelcome fact in this restricted debate that the proportion of medals won at London more closely reflects the ability of sporting authorities to identify and fund talented individuals, than the wider contributions made by various demographic groups.
At an international event like the Olympics questions of national identity are not resolved, nor should they be. Rather they are washed away by an acknowledgement of our shared universal humanity, as the problems of our national institutions are pinpointed.
So I find it hard to agree with Baroness Ece where she says she never imagined the British public would cheer Mo Farah… where has she been for the past 6 years as his career developed and he gradually started realising his obvious potential to become a world-beater?
Was there any question whatsoever that immense champions including David Rudisha, or Usain Bolt would be equally celebrated, despite representing other flags? And what about the heartfelt applause for the true spirit of competition shown by Hamadou Djibo Issaka, among many others, irrespective of background?
If anti-racism campaigners wish to dig down beyond to the real causes of the inequality and injustice which exists in society, then they’d do well do go beyond the commercial populism of trite media-driven headlines which only reinforce desired appearances.
“So I find it hard to agree with Baroness Ece where she says she never imagined the British public would cheer Mo Farah… where has she been for the past 6 years as his career developed and he gradually started realising his obvious potential to become a world-beater?”
I suspect that the key phrase in what she wrote was “Somalian-born man called Mohammed”, and that she had in mind the way in which Somali immigrants have been represented negatively probably more than any other group.
@Simon McGrath – If one believes that levelling the playing field and tackling the latently unfair outcomes which deny opportunities to people based on the colour of their skin is discrimination and prejudice then by all means take the line out of our constitution. I happen to think all-Black shortlists is entirely consistent with it.
“I never imagined we’d see the whole nation cheering on a Somalian-born man called Mohammed to victory.”
That is a deeply depressing worldview you have there Meral.
You do understand than patriotism and civic nationalism, which the games have exemplified, have nothing to do with the colour of ones skin?
He is British, and proud to be so, that is all i need to know.
Oranjepan: “If anti-racism campaigners wish to dig down beyond to the real causes of the inequality and injustice which exists in society, then they’d do well do go beyond the commercial populism of trite media-driven headlines which only reinforce desired appearances.”
I agree with you Oranjepan, only I don’t believe that Meral was doing that. The drip-drip of negative headlines about immigrants (see today’s Express front page for example) builds a picture of a nation hostile to immigrants but as the reaction to Mo Farah shows, this is not the full picture. Yet polls show immigration and asylum remain at or near the top of people’s ‘concerns’, which are often a swirling mixture of genuine / practical issues (eg. housing, infrastructure) and deep seated ignorance and prejudice. There are many occasions where a family facing deportation has captured the hearts of the local community who have campaigned fervently for them to stay on grounds of their good nature and contribution to community life, yet if that family were not there would those neighbourhoods really be any different from any other when it comes to these issues? In that sense, Mo Farah has been taken to the heart of Britain but it would be naive to draw to wide a conclusion based on this alone.
If we want to debate the “real causes of the inequality and injustice” when it comes to race things get uncomfortable. We need to factor in unconscious false notions of supremacy formed through generations, indeed many centuries, of ‘scientific racism’, imagery and attitudes dating from the times of enslavement and colonialism that have permeated film and the media throughout our lives, fear of difference, misapprehensions about culture and a desire to hold onto advantage and privilege. So, moving swiftly on…
“You do understand than patriotism and civic nationalism, which the games have exemplified, have nothing to do with the colour of ones skin?”
That was probably why there was no mention of skin colour in the sentence that you were commenting on!
Lester,
I very much appreciate that – I agree, and I confess I was trying to stir a response along those lines, as it looked to me like Meral was missing an ingredient in her argument.
There is, as you say, a major disconnect between general perception and individual examples regarding many subjects, of which race and equality are only the sharpest tip of the iceberg.
I also agree that more detailed debate creates serious discomfort in this area – since you mention it, I’ll complement “unconscious false notions of supremacy” with disturbing implications of change and the defensiveness this can cause, which can take hold on all sides.
To this I’ll point specifically at your well-known advocacy of all-black shortlists.
While I’m sympathetic, I find it difficult to agree to the imposition of a blanket formalised policy along these lines, whereas a more moderate encouragement of such an arrangement under specific conditions may actually be more effective.
As an example the constituency I voted in in 2010 saw almost a full slate of Asian Muslim candidates stand, despite this demographic comprising about 7% of the electorate. This wasn’t the product of positive discrimination, but instead a reflection of greater civic participation by second and third-generation immigrants who hold a greater stake in their geographic community than previous generations, at least partly because such groups can now freely celebrate a multi-layered identity.
Being critical, I’d argue this failing was possibly a result of a weaker historic national ties and civic institutions in the background countries, which produces a corresponding emphasis on divisive, non-inclusive identities such as race, or religion.
Consequently, I feel a more interventionist political approach regarding equality may be counterproductive as often as not.
Since Clegg’s 30th anniversary Scarman lecture where he said “Real equality is not just the absence of prejudice. It is the existence of fairness and opportunity too…,” maybe it’d be better were we to broaden the net to address the ethnic deficit he identified among banks, media and sports organisations.
I know you’ve been critical of the UK’s ‘black-led’ press and websites for failing to hold government and companies to account, and I think the Aspire network for BME journalists set up by Mutale Nkonde and Corinne Amoo could be revitalised.
If we can argue for more women in corporate boardrooms, couldn’t we suggest people like Gemma Charles as a replacement for Alan Rusbridger at The Guardian, or how about Anasudhin Azeez to replace Dominic Mohan as the next editor of The Sun? I’m sure this is less heavy-handed than legislation and therefore more achievable.
@lester – do you actually believe that an all black ( interesting to know how you would define black by the way) shortlist would not be discriminatory. You might I suppose argue that some discrimination is good but to argue that a shortlist which excludes people based on their ethnic origin is not discriminatory is clearly nonsense.
Meral is right to highlight the fact that over the last decade or so there has been some welcome progress on Race Equality
But for all that many groups continue to suffer disadvantage purely on account of their racial background as Meral acknowledges below
“Over the last couple of decades, good progress has been made in working towards race equality, but much remains to be done. Students from certain ethnic backgrounds are still more likely to have no or limited access to early years education, and are more likely to do badly at exams, still more likely to be expelled. Over 50% of 16-24 year old young black men, available for work, are unemployed.
Of course it is fact that
“Many Liberal Democrats feel that race equality still needs to be firmly on the political and social agenda. We cannot ignore the inequalities that still exist, and develop our policies as if there is a level playing field.”
After all we are supposed to be the Party that puts ” Fairness “at the heart of everything we do. Or at least we claim to do so. The question for me is whether when presented with the the opportunity we actually walk our talk
In the first half of this coalition government term Lib Dem Ministers held posts which gave them significant influence if not control over Equalities legislation. Yet in that period we have seen the Equalities Act weakened and the EHRC reduced in size Race Relations Agencies I speak to complain that the coalition government appears to regard Race as a non issue
Yet the facts stare us in the face –
If you are Black you are more likely to be excluded from school, less likely to secure good housing and more likely to be sent to prison than your white counterparts
Racial Discrimination is alive and well …
I am not convinced that we needed yet another Race Equality Task Force to ” look at ways in which the party can improve its level of understanding and policy development ”
I would have preferred it if the Task Force had taken for itself the powers to question the Party and our Minsisters on the quality of their Equality Impact Assessments.
I am afraid I cannot agree we dont have “policies to address many of the deep social issues and attitudes that exist in our society ”
What we seem to lack is the will to ensure that the policiies we do have are applied in a way that will reduce the opportunity gap for the BME sections of our communities.
@ Chris – “That was probably why there was no mention of skin colour in the sentence that you were commenting on!”
I am presuming there was some reason she could never have imagined a Somalian born being cheered, and that the reason might be related to the fact that being Somali he’s brown. It’s a small jump from there to understand that we are talking about race.
………… Unless Meral was convinced that the British public would have a visceral loathing of cultures that create pentatonic music, perfume food with frankincense, etc?
I admit that is a possibility……..?
@Orangepan I confess I haven’t been following Mo Farah’s career for the last 6 years. But I highlighted Mo, because there are so few (if any) positive role models from the Somalian immigrant community. Something Mo himself acknowledged and wants to change. Same could be said for the lack of high profile UK Muslims generally, as @Chris highlights in his first comment.
@jedibeeftrix – I am not suggesting the British are so intolerant of different cultures. In fact we are a very tolerant nation compared with some European countries. But we have deep rooted problems and inequalities in education, and stagnant social mobility. The stats speak for themselves. Why do we have so many young black men in prison?
We are asking for comments and feedback as to positive ways that we can develop policies that address these inequalities that are a reality for very large sections of children and young people from Black, Asian, and ethnic minority backgrounds.
Rabi, you will be pleased to note that inclusion of equality impact assessments (EIA’s), will be a core recommendation by the ‘Task Force’.
If we wish to eradicate racism and other forms of bigotry from society, then personally I feel that we would benefit from putting in place robust mechanisms that guarantee that we as a Party commence “walking the talk”. It is immensly frustrating, but sadly we still face an uphill battle to convince the Party that the adoption of EIA’s will enhance the Party both internally, and externally. I often leave Great George Stree following meetings wondering whether it is the ‘will’ that we lack to make change, or whether we are just overly buearocratic and reliant on committees to introduce changes that are simply the obvious and right thing to do.
As to Meral’s article, it has succeeded in commencing some dialogue, and as such it has achieved its goal in my opinion. For me though, I find it very disheartening that the nation does not generally seem to cherish its BME citizens UNLESS they are winning golds, or scoring goals, then for a fraction of time they as individuals, but certainly not the communities from which they come are hailed as heroes and being ‘The Best of British’.
Regarding the the term Black, which one commentator has mentioned, I see this as a political and inclusive term, as adopted by the National Black Police Association (UK) in 1999, that emphasised “the common experience and determination of people of African, African-Caribbean, Middle-Eastern, Asian or Asian sub-continent origin to oppose the effects of racism and victimisation”..
Please respond to this thread, all opinions are valued, for change will only come as a result of people’s awareness being raised of the existence of the inequalities that are unfortunately still an everyday experience for many within society.
Apologies for any typo’s but I am tapping this out on the iPad, whilst sitting back on my verandah listening to the sounds of the jungle at night in Sri Lanka where the Olympics is but a distant memory, as the Cricket has recommenced
Ruwan Uduwerage-Perera
EMLD Executive
English Party Diversity Champion
Surely the part of our constitution that forbids discrimination assumes that we are talking about irrational discrimination ? No-one objects if blind people are refused jobs as bus drivers because we can see thats reasonable.
Surely elements of positive discrimination intended to make our Party less disciminatory in effect would be alright ?
Too often in today’s party, the anti-discrimination sentiments that are an inherent part of our core beliefs are used to attack any hint of positive discrimination for those people who been discriminated against for generations.
Yet you never hear a word from the many Simon McGraths about the great majority of pale, stale males inevitably picked for seats that can be won. It is an absolute nonsense when one of this group, me, had to put up as a fourth on the list in Camberwell & Peckham so that no-one could complain about an all-black short-list.
Fortunately, I followed papist doctrine and pulled out in time to avoid unwanted consequences. Each of the three black candidates were excellent and would have fought an effective campaign. One, Columba Blango was brilliant.
But not until a black person has to be asked put up so that no-one can complain about an all-white short list will we know there is true equality and justice in the Liberal Democrats.
Yet all-white short-lists, sometimes with a white woman, often not, are the overwhelming norm in the great mass of seats in Midsomer seats – where, like the telly series, you never see a black person – and so many other places too.
Utter even a small voice of complaint, and you would are regarded as some form of revolutionary. But utter it we must, at the same time as getting out the heavy roller to actually create the level playing fields on race we talk about.
We need to enforce our policies and principles. Not set up yet another working group or task force to pull up the grass to see why it is not growing.
It is time to mark out the pitches and put up the goalposts so that we can actually begin to score. Step forward the united team to take positive action and actually score those goals we all write about.
If the Olympics have taught us anything, it is that those who seek glory have to go out and take the positive action that gets results.
Paul, it is not positive discrimination, but positive action that is required.
Positive action seeks to ‘level the playing field’, by reducuing the barriers, both real and perceived that exist for progression, whereas positive discrimination, gives applicants from disadvantaged and under-represented groups preferential treatment in the recruitment process, for example, regardless of their ability to do the job.
Do barriers, both real and perceived exist within our Party, that potentially limit the ‘best’ people coming forward? Yep, sadly they do.
Sorry, read positive action for positive discrimination in second line. Freud might have something to observe….
RUP – barriers exist everywhere unless you are rich and single. There’s no way I could be a PPC given my family commitments, for example.
@jonathan hunt – why on earth would anyone complain about an al black shortlist if they were the best of the people who applied? Not me or any other Liberal.
Simon McGrath: As long ago as 8:26am this morning you said: “before we could have all black shortlists presumably we would have to change our Constitution to take this bit out “we reject all prejudice and discrimination based upon race, colour, religion, age, disability, sex or sexual orientation ”
Am pleased to see such a progressive change in a mere 11 hours, from believing that all-black short-lists automatically transgressed the Constitution to now arguing that members of an all-black short-list might just be the best people available.
@Jonathan I assume you are deliberatively missing the point. Lester wants all black shortlists by banning other candidates. Surely you can see the difference between that and an all black shortlist because the black people are the best candidates ?
Tabman, I am sure that you will accept that although barriers exist for almost everyone, some of these barriers are inappropriate and need to be removed if we are to develop a cohesive society.
The characteristics as highlighted within the Equality Act, 2010 are merely the base line, and as Liberal Democrats we would benefit from proactively demonstrating our support for equality and diversity at every opportunity, for what policy, procedure or practice does not have some form of impacting ones own, or another’s diversity?
Personally I am fully supportive of Lester’s approach, and further believe that currently many of the anti-racist, and other anti-discriminatory policies are merely superficial, and there is a need to deal with the causes of intolerance, which are in some cases deeply embedded within society, for example the continuing intolerance towards Gypsy Roma and other Travellor communities, and the alleged support for same sex marriage, but then not real commitment to move from rhetoric into action.
As Lester highlights, when tackling this arena, things get uncomfortable for us all, for none of us is void of irrational bigotry in one form or another.
In the short term, to redress the ethnic imbalance that exists within our Parliamentary membership, I would personally like to see a Black (as previously defined), and a Female candidate stand for selection as a potential PPC for every seat that we contest. Whilst our Parliamentary membership is almost devoid of visible ethnic diversity, it is hard for us to claim the ‘laurel wreath’ for inclusivity.
I appreciate that this stance may appear to ‘fly in the face’ liberalism as perceived by many members, but often democracy needs a helping hand, if it is to be achieved.
Ruwan,
it’s assumed consensus on conventional orthodoxy that flies in the face of liberalism, not vigorous open debate.
We all recognise a glaring imbalance exists, and we all agree that we do need to take action, but we don’t all agree on any single measure.
Restricted shortlists and guaranteed candidacy for minorities in PPC selections in all target seats may be ways to address the address the issue of imbalanced representation, but will they also resolve it?
I agree that artificially tipping the scales is the traditional leftist manner of dealing with policy, but there remain standing questions about whether it can or should be kept up for how long under what conditions. and therefore whether rebalancing the imbalance is consistent with liberal principles of equality – there is a clash between democratic and meritocratic principles.
As far as I’m concerned it depends on a calculation to be made about whether measures taken result in more LibDems getting elected, a calculation whch weighs upon a wider strategy question about which constituencies across the country we wish to target. The final consideration is then having winning candidates to put into winning campaigns.
I accept the advantages of restricted shortlists, but I find it hard to agree that any advantages apply uniformly. Satisfying the demands of a particular demographic or lobby group however does not necessarily mean effective action, as ultimately it comes down to the individuals concerned.
So if we are to introduce any measure campaigners need to also identify where they wish to introduce it – which target seat(s) do we think positive action will make a difference to our politics in that area? Can sufficient numbers of sufficiently strong candidates be attracted to impress the relevance of this campaign issue to the voters in the area? Will the difference mean winning that seat/more seats elsewhere?
I’m always surprised by the direction of debate about issues of equality, it’s never something anyone can just have, it’s always something we each must do. Symbolism isn’t enough – you can’t order a tide where to go, you are part of it.
Oranjepan – If only it were true that
“We all recognise a glaring imbalance exists, and we all agree that we do need to take action, but we don’t all agree on any single measure”
Time after time there were speakers at conference who argued that we were a Party that does not discriminate on the basis of race. Yet these same people were quite happy to support positive action for women which led to zipping and women being elected to Parliament and the London Assembly
Nick Clegg is on record as supporting “all Black shortlists ” but appears to have gone cold on the idea.
I am encouraged that you accept special measures are a legitimate way to tackle the problem The answer to ” but there remain standing questions about whether it can or should be kept up for how long under what conditions ” is a simple one – until we achieve the results we seek – an end the to BME Deficit in our Parliamentary Party
Ruwan’s suggestion of reequiring shortlists to include one BME and one woman candidate would be an excellent way forward
I don’t understand what you mean when you “I’m always surprised by the direction of debate about issues of equality”
My concern is that the coalition government has significantly weakened the Equalities Legislation and that BME communities in particular continue to lose out in Housing, Education and Health
We are a diverse and tolearnt sociaty that is true.
But we are far from being a society where all sections of the community compete on a level playing field
And BME communities continue to be at the bottom of the pile
We seem to be debating whether we as a party should adopt (legal) positive action, for all Black shortlists to address the lack of BAME representation. I believe this is an issue we will need to come back to very soon, but in the meantime, can I gently point out that the work of the Race Equality Task Force, and our report, will be focussing on early years, education, training and career prospects, and how best we can develop policies and accelerate social mobility to address this.
Rabi,
I return to the Clegg quote, “Real equality is not just the absence of prejudice. It is the existence of fairness and opportunity too”
Regarding all-black shortlists, I’m not against the idea on principle, rather I’d like to see a bit more preactical discussion about the manner in which we could use them positively… for example in which specific seats.
Meral,
sorry for that slightly cheeky comment, I felt it may be useful to promote a debate which goes beyond the superficial level of principled positions and digs into deeper questions about how these can be applied… again, for example, in which seat(s) would an all-black shortlist be used for our PPC selection process?
Meral,
absolutely, regarding media representations of positive role models I hope my earlier comment about building support networks to aid in rebalancing employment within the media is helpful.
Meral
I hope the report will also serve as an impetus for Lib Dem Ministers involved in education and emplyment to take a more robust line
I am concerned that the new changes proposed by Vince Cabl on hiring and firing will again hit the Black Young people the hardest
Am pleased to see Ruwan and Rabi picking up the EMLD amendment to the Federal Exceutive motion, which proposes only that there be one man and one woman on shoprtlists for Westminster elections. It says patronisingly “there should be due regard for ethic minorities”.
The executive unanimously backed our amendment that there should be one visible ethic minority in a short-list of four, and one in the first two and a second in the top six of Euro selections.