By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS
London : Inspired by the success of blacks in American politics, Asian MP Keith Vaz has challenged the British House of Commons to introduce positive discrimination for ethnic minority candidates.
Labour MP Vaz, who is Britain’s longest-serving Asian parliamentarian, Wednesday introduced a motion under what is known as a 10-minute rule, which is used by MPs to test opinion in the House rather than to introduce a bill.
The mover of the motion is allowed a maximum of 10 minutes to speak.
In his address Vaz called for positive discrimination, saying progress on improving ethnic minority representation in the Commons had been “painfully slow” since 1987, when he was first elected to parliament.
“The creation of ethnic-minority shortlists will undoubtedly see more ethnic minorities taking up seats in parliament, which will mean a parliament that mirrors the society it represents,” he said.
“This bill is a wake-up call for all our political parties,” he added. “We have waited long enough. It is time for more action and less talk.”
Vaz is one of only 14 ethnic minority MPs in a parliament with 646 seats. According to the last census taken in 2001, some seven percent of Britain’s 60-million population are ethnic minorities, which would translate to more than 45 parliamentary seats.
Vaz, who may introduce his Race Relations (Election Candidates) Bill later this month, wants political parties in Britain to introduce voluntary measures to increase the number of ethnic minority candidates – just as they did with women some years ago.
Measures could include all-ethnic minority shortlists for some seats – particularly in major urban centres – in the next general election, which is due by 2010 but is likely to be held next year.
Vaz, who is the chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, is concerned that the Labour Party is not attracting enough professional men and women from the ethnic minorities who want to be members of parliament.
Vaz’s role in the selection of candidates will be crucial as he is a member of Labour’s National Executive Committee, a powerful body that decides short lists among other important party matters.
The lack of professionals – Vaz himself is a trained lawyer – joining politics means that ethnic minority candidates have largely been drawn from those who are active in the local community, rather than in the mainstream of British life.
“There are 14 at the moment. When I came to parliament, there were four – just over three times as many in 20 years,” Vaz told IANS in an interview.
“We will only make a breakthrough when we become substantial figures in parliament and are able to control our destiny rather than rely on patronage.
“They have done it in America. If (Labour chairwoman) Harriet Harman decides, we will be the first country in the world to have such a law,” Vaz added.
However, for political parties to approve all-ethnic minority shortlists, the law will have to be changed – as was done with women candidates when positive discrimination was found to be illegal in Britain.
Vaz’s Bill seeks to do that.
Other than Vaz, the black and ethnic minority MPs in the lower house are: Diane Abbot, Adam Afriyie, Dawn Butler, Parmjit Dhanda, Mark Hendrick, Ashok Kumar, Sadiq Khan, David Lamy, Khalid Mahmood, Shahid Malik, Mohammad Sarwar, Veerendra Sharma and Sailesh Vara.
Vaz commended Labour’s nomination of Ara Darzi, a successful Iranian-born surgeon to the House of Lords but added: “I’d like to see people elected to the Commons rather than the Lords, because I’ve always seen the Lords as something of an anachronism in this day and age.”