The Labour Party should be the party of equality. Now, it is time to act like it

Having read the findings of the Forde inquiry this week, and seen much of the reaction on social media, I have been saddened to see that much of this discussion has missed the real impact this report, and what the behaviour it reveals, has on the Black and other ethnic minority members of our party.

As the Forde report stated: “Racism in the party is not experienced by individuals solely through acts of aggression or microaggression towards them personally – it is experienced through seeing colleagues being passed over for promotion; being the only person from an ethnic minority background around a meeting table; being managed by a near exclusively white senior team; and hearing the particular disdain which colleagues reserve for (for example) ethnic minority MPs, councillors and [Constituency Labour Party] members.”

The Labour Party should be the party of equality, of fairness, of progressive values. And while we often are, there are too many times when we let down our Black and ethnic minority members, take those communities’ votes for granted and don’t champion their interests. So many years after Tulip Siddiq MP wrote for LabourList making the same points, we find ourselves going round in circles again.

The current bunfight for the Tory leadership has shown how far we have to come. Look at how many contenders there were from Black and ethnic minority backgrounds: the current frontrunner, another in the final four, and so many more. And yet, 122 years after the formation of the Labour Party, the so-called party of equality is yet to have one leader from a Black or other ethnic minority background.

At the 2019 election, Black and ethnic minority representation in the Parliamentary Labour Party rose to 20%. An impressive figure compared to the past – but still far too low. I severely hope that the current selections are seeing a further improvement on this.

In recent years, we have been doing important work in Islington to address this disparity. I’m incredibly proud to be the first Black Jewish woman to become leader of Islington Council. Since taking over as leader, I have been focused on making Islington a more equal place, and that starts with a council that looks like the people we represent. At the recent local elections, 47% of our candidates were from a Black or other ethnic minority background and now, over half of our council executive also hail from a minoritised community background.

There are many people to thank for our progress in this area, but no one more than Jennette Arnold, our former councillor and London Assembly member. Jennette has been on a one-woman crusade to increase representation in our party for many years now and her leadership of the ‘See it – Be it’ programme has mentored so many people, including myself, to be politicians and champions of our communities.

While this is impressive on a local level, we need to see this across the UK. The Labour Party needs to look like our voters, look like the people we represent and look like the country. That starts with recruiting new Black and other ethnic minority members, putting measures in place so that those members are selected for winnable seats and can eventually stand for leadership roles in our party. The heart and soul of our party is at stake. The Labour Party should be the party of equality. Now, it is time to act like it.