Labour have responded to a study by Operation Black Vote into the Power of the Black Vote by selecting a new cohort of black and Asian candidates in marginal seats where the BAME electorate is larger than the sitting MP’s majority.
In addition to their current 15 BAME MPs, Labour have picked seven new diverse candidates in marginal constituencies that were identified by the OBV report where the BAME electorate is larger than the MP’s majority.
Candidates include Clive Lewis (pictured), who is challenging Simon Wright, the Lib Dem MP in Norwich South, which is 16th on the OBV list. Thangam Debbonaire is taking on another Lib Dem MP, Stephen Williams, in Bristol West.
Bin Joshi Barr, who is hoping to turn Conservative Colne Valley red, will find the BAME population in the constituency double the MP’s majority. Josie Channer (Kingswood), Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead & Kilburn), Purna Sen (Brighton Pavilion) and Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Gravesham) all stand a good chance of being elected in 2015.
Siddiq inherits a Labour-held seat, albeit a three-way ultra marginal, after Glenda Jackson announced her retirement.
Labour’s recent selections will be a signal to other parties to raise their game on Black political representation.
The Lib Dems have picked two BAME candidates in winnable seats; Maajid Nawaz in Hampstead & Kilburn, and Layla Moran – of white and Palestinian heritage – in Oxford West and Abingdon, a seat the Lib Dems held until 2010 when Dr Evan Harris lost his seat to the Conservatives.
However the Lib Dems will need to select more BAME candidates in winnable seats if they are to keep pace with Labour in 2015.
By Lester Holloway @brolezholloway
