THE region's only ethnic minority
MP has condemned Labour's
plans for "all-black" shortlists for
Westminster seats and warned of
"bloodletting".
Dr Ashok Kumar, the Middlesbrough
South and East Cleveland
MP, said the proposal, being
pushed by Labour's deputy
leader, Harriet Harman, would
split local parties and fatally
weaken campaigning.
He accused many of its backers
of not understanding the impact
of imposing shortlists on local
Labour activists, who were badly
needed to knock on doors and get
the voters out.
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Dr Kumar said: "They will get
their black person, but they will
also create hostility, division and
resentment in that constituency
for years to come.
"That is the problem - bloodletting
will break out. You will
leave a wounded constituency
party when we are all comrades
in the same party, surely?"
Dr Kumar, who represents a
seat in which nearly 99 per cent of
constituents are white, spoke out
alongside other black and Asian
Labour MPs, as the idea gains
ground in the party.
Others went even further,
warning of political apartheid,
which would segregate ethnic minority
MPs into constituencies
with large numbers of black and
Asian people.
They said that could make it
harder to elect further ethnic minority
MPs in the North-East or
North Yorkshire, because they
would be "packed off" instead to
places such as Birmingham,
Leicester or Luton.
Critics of the plan also point
out that Barack Obama has managed
to break out of the "black
politician" mould to become a viable
US presidential candidate,
not defined by race.
Nevertheless, Ms Harman is
drawing up plans for all-black
shortlists, possibly in time for the
next General Election.
During her successful deputy
leadership campaign, Ms Harman
pledged to quadruple the number
of ethnic minority MPs. There are
currently only 15 out of 646 MPs.
Dr Kumar said he did not want
to hold himself as an example of
someone who could win selection
without the help of an all-black
shortlist.
He said: "When I think of the
white people who put in so much
effort on my behalf in the early
Nineties to help get me elected,
then I would not want to exclude
them."
Posted by: Yemen, darlington on 10:28am Fri 28 Mar 08
discrimination in ANY form is wrong and for it to be policy is abhorrent... we should elect people to public office on their personality and policy not because the are the 'right colour' or have the right amount of limbs missing etc etc...
discrimination in ANY form is wrong and for it to be policy is abhorrent... we should elect people to public office on their personality and policy not because the are the 'right colour' or have the right amount of limbs missing etc etc...
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