Politics

Stand and Deliver

London's minority councillors target race barriers in local Labour Party, but are they on the right track?

Jennette Arnold

If you put your ear to the tracks, you'll sense that something big is trundling down the line. Minorities in the public realm are gearing up to gain more places in the town halls of London next election time.

This is not an idle thought Ms Jennette Arnold, London Assembly member at large told Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Councillors recently. The occasion was the 2nd annual informal reception hosted by Mayor Ken Livingstone at City Hall.

The remarks by Ms Arnold, the Mayor's cabinet advisor on Culture and Economic and Social Development, underpin a growing concern. London's diverse communities have not been welcome as full contributors to the political life of the 33 London borough councils, the main providers of the capital's public services.

The facts are depressingly straight forward. "Currently around 30 per cent of Londoners are from BME groups but only 10 per cent are represented in London's local government [as elected officials]," the mayor announced. Statistics show there are only approximately 300 BME councillors across London; most are Labour party stalwarts; and their numbers have stayed the same, if not declined, over recent elections.

"Increasing the representation of BME councillors across London is fundamental to realising our equalities agenda and ensuring that the voices of all of London's communities are heard," said Mayor Livingstone.

What councillors say
Rumblings over this sorry state of affairs have come from various quarters. Bachan S Bhalla (Cllr. Lab. Cambridgeshire County Council), chair of the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors, targeted the "continuing under-representation of the ethnic minorities in local government". Mr Bhalla called for more representative local governance and community leadership, and the upgrading of councillors already elected.

Similar views were expressed by his co-panellist, Sanjay Dighe (Cllr. Lab. Harrow), the equalities head for the Association of Local Government, the Labour-controlled lobbying group for London's borough councils.

The causes of under-representation are complex said African Caribbean councillors when interviewed. But they cited voter apathy and the reluctance of local party leaders to select and put forward BME candidates as critical factors.

Crada Onuegbu

Joseph Ejiofor (Cllr. Lab. Newham) said: "It is pitiful that in a borough where you could pin a Labour rosette on a donkey and get it elected, the party chiefs have failed to take up the diversity challenge and select more Black candidates."

"The problem is they don't look on us as equals," said Ms H V Sandilands (Cllr. Lab. Enfield), and chair of the council's housing scrutiny panel.

There is also evidence, suggested Crada Onuegbu (Cllr. Lab. Lewisham) that local party officials "discriminate against elected BME councillors". Hence they are starved of opportunity to participate in decision making committees and top municipal appointments.

• Black Londoners along with the working class and youth just don't vote.
  
  
• White educated middle class Londoners have the highest rates of registration and turnout.
  
  
• Black Caribbean and African groups have the lowest levels of registration and voting.
  
  

• Indians are most likely to register and vote among Asian groups, with Bangladeshis and Pakistanis less likely.
  
  

There's no arguing with the figures. They highlight entrenched patterns of political behaviour – prejudice in political parties and town halls and low voting rates. Coupled with the lack of unified BME power this makes political action for equality extremely difficult.

Les Eytle

No doubt the alliance of BME councillors (in which Mr Bhalla's organisation, the Mayor and others are partners) has pragmatic and fraternal roots. Long-standing Labour stalwarts like Les Eytle (Cllr. Lab. Lewisham) can attest to that. There is a commonality of interest and feeling based on shared experiences of colour prejudice and cultural stereotypes. Off the record interviews reveal the same smouldering frustration at the slow progress in climbing the political ladder.

But palaver without action is meaningless. The Mayor won't fund the annual bash forever. The yawning gaps in political power - Black, white and Asian - will not magically disappear.

One sensed a major contradiction. Loyalty to the party is something BME councillors do well. But are they being faithful to their constituents and BME communities?

Act for change
There may be another way to prove they are. Which is that the capital's BME borough councillors must prepare the ground for a new kind of political thrust. Informed debate must replace drinks and canapés. The councillors should be exploring the common ground for a more focused progressive and vigorous approach to urban issues. An approach which will succeed where traditional white Labour party controlled borough councils have failed.

Without serious action plans the BME councillors will face no chance of meeting the needs of the locked-out people, the part of the urban electorate that are giving up on city politics.

Who are they? They are the disillusioned, political abstainers, the foreign language groups, the elderly, the low wage employed and the unemployed, those hurt by uncaring urban renewal, the homeless, impoverished and imprisoned, the hard working female wage earners (an important group in Black communities) who cry out for child care assistance, crèches, equal wages and benefits - and we should not forget, says Herbert Brown (Cllr. Lab. Haringey) " the Black under-achievers and youth who leave school without adequate qualifications - despite being above average when they started"

If the BME borough councillors can't, won't or are unable to plan ahead for beneficial public sector policies, organisations and services that will make a difference in people's lives, then the equality train will end up out of propellant fuel, derailed in the political boondocks.