DAVID CAMERON says he would like to see an Asian become Britain’s Prime Minister. I must say, I am tempted to say: “Then move over Dave and let’s have our Asian Prime Minister next week.” But I couldn’t care less about the ethnic identity of our Prime Minister, her or his colour or sex – I refuse to say gender.

I’d dearly love to see as Prime Minister someone who upholds our traditional values and who is up to the job. Cameron fails on both counts.

It’s worth quoting Dave’s speech, at an Asian awards ceremony, at some length: “In Britain today there are still too few people from ethnic minorities in top positions. As has just been said, the absence is glaring in the boardrooms of FTSE 250, in the chambers of the Houses of Parliament, on football managers' benches, on high court judges' benches and in our fighter jets, our naval ships and our armed battalions around the world.”

The first thing to be said about this speech is that it’s racist. Imagine if, instead of declaring he would like to see Asians in top positions, he had called for the promotion of white people.

If there really is such a phenomenon as racism, then it cuts all ways and black people, Asians, Polish immigrants and rare Mexican settlers from the Isle of Man visiting the mainland for the day are all eligible to commit that criminal offence.

The definition of racism is the preferring of one person or group over others, not on the grounds of ability or suitability, talent, intelligence or vigour, but solely on account of ethnic origin.

Cameron developed his sermon, shall we say, colourfully: “When I hear those terms, Your Honour, Brigadier General, Right Honourable, more often I want to hear it followed by an Asian name. And yes, one day I want to hear that title Prime Minister, followed by an Asian name.”

This is social engineering, the politics of envy and sectarianism and, wherever it’s practised, racial tensions are increased.

The Asian Media Marketing Group who sponsored that awards ceremony also produces a regular inventory called The Asian Annual Power List. It put Labour MPs Keith Vaz and Sadiq Khan at number three and seven respectively and Tory MPs Priti Patel and Shilesh Vara at numbers six and nine. Very nice for them, I’m sure. But suppose there were the proposal to set up a White British Annual Power List; members of other races would be outraged, and rightly. Imagine if I advertised and booked the church hall to set up the inaugural meeting, the Thought Police would be round within the hour and the real police faster than you can say Sachin Tendulkar.

We don’t want quotas and the so called “positive discrimination” which is actually racism by euphemism. What we do need is better opportunities for people of all races and colours from lowly backgrounds to improve their prospects by intelligence, talent and their own efforts. I suggest, as one means to this laudable end, the restoration of the grammar schools: it was West Leeds (Boys’) High School in the 1950s which opened opportunities which I, as a denizen of the poor backstreets, wouldn’t have otherwise had. But anti-elitism prevents this from happening.

Besides, as I look around, I seem to notice that many members of the ethnic minorities do pretty well for themselves: footballers, medical doctors, radio and television presenters and millionaire rap artists, for example. And they got where they are without the help of PR man Dave.