Operation Black Vote and the Department for Communities and Local Government are hosting an upcoming Parliamentary Shadowing Scheme. The aim of this cross party project is to address the deficit of BME individuals in politics and nurture a new generation of BME leaders.
Following the 2010 General Election, there are currently 27 Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) MPs. Whilst this number is in itself an achievement on the previous 14, it is still not enough. A more representative Parliament would see approximately 60 BME MPs of which half would be women. This level of systematic under-representation means that people from BME communities, by design or default, feel that there is little or no place for BME communities to have a clear and just voice. Operation Black Vote in partnership with the Department for Communities and Local Government is trying to change this.
For more details, e-mail mp@obv.org.uk or call Jyoti Bhojani on 020 8983 5426.