When asked why he was running for the White House, Jesse Jackson used to reply, "You never saw the house I'm running from".
Well, here in Britain, we certainly know the House that talented black people who wish to make a political contribution are running to.
Last March saw the publication of an authoritative list of Britain's 10 most influential black women, including fully three members of the House of Lords (with two in the two top spots), one of them Britain's first ever black woman Cabinet Minister, Baroness Amos. Three was, and is, one more than the total number of black women in the House of Commons, neither of whom was listed. And later that year, although Baroness Amos left the Cabinet, the second-placed Baroness Scotland joined it.
There are proportionately far more ethnic minority people in the House of Lords than in the House of Commons, and a significantly wider range of ethnic minorities is represented there.
It is just a pity (and something of a mystery) that there is still no one who identifies as mixed-race.
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Not yet, but soon we will have Lord Lindsay of Lanchester, People's Peer!
ReplyDeleteIt's a subtle post this David, but reading carefully between the lines I detect a hint that you yourself fancy breaking this mixed-race duck?
ReplyDeleteWell, the application is in. I got a terribly nice letter back - not a standard issue one, a personal one.
ReplyDeleteThey move slowly, but that is reassuring.