So says our glorious leader, Mr Nick Clegg, by today supporting Keith Vaz’s Ten Minute Rule Bill* which allows for the creation of shortlists on the grounds of ethnicity in the selection of parliamentary candidates. The Cleggy one has indicated he would use the powers in this Bill "if existing and planned resources fail to make the difference in the coming years". As I’ve written before:
To replace one evil with another hardly does diversity any favours and will probably serve to alienate more people than it integrates.
To elaborate: Discrimination, of any kind, on a criteria which bears no relation to your ability to do the job, is wrong. It is fair to award party posts, such as PPCs, on the basis of merit only. It is not fair to award it on the basis of skin colour or ethnicity. To say that black or other people aren’t good enough to be MPs unless they have help from the white man is possibly the most patronising, shameful position we can take on this issue, and I hope Nick Clegg sees sense soon.
* Extremely unlikely to become law.
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14 responses so far ↓
1 Paul Griffiths // Feb 12, 2008 at 7:34 pm
As an indicator of Nick’s real views, I suggest the title of your piece should be something more like “White people aren’t (yet) liberal enough to select black PPCs”. But I agree with you about morality of the proposal.
2 Meral Ece // Feb 12, 2008 at 7:44 pm
Gavin, this is an fortunate title, a kneejerk reaction, and not helpful. You are aware as we all are, that people from BME backgrounds face barriers in becoming PPCs, and MPs, and in some instances racism. It is not a level playing field. All politcal parties recognise this, and this is merely a fallback position, if we fail to do better- ie, get any BME person into Parliament.
Does that not bother you? Do you really think there would be so many women MPs on the Labour benches if there hadn’t been a change which allowed all women short lists?
Only a third of MPs are women despite the change to the legislation. It is not enough to sit back and suggest that ‘black people are not good enough’ indicationg that you think we don’t have a problem with representation within the party. If we wish to represent, we should be representative. Personally, I think its more of an evil to disregard and not be more proactive in engaging with the BME communities in the UK, and failing to be representative- Thats why all public bodoes are bound by the Race Relations Amendment Act- cause society is not equal.
3 James Graham // Feb 12, 2008 at 8:26 pm
I think all black shortlists would be absolutely catastrophic and would essentially ghettoise black politicians.
On the other hand, I’m quite hopeful that the threat of introducing them will concentrate minds.
Holding a proverbial gun at the proverbial head of the party might just force it to take diversity issues seriously. Nothing else has.
4 Maggie Bob // Feb 12, 2008 at 8:51 pm
I’m pretty much with you on this mate. I’ve always been against ‘positive’ discrimination.
5 Quaequam Blog! » Blog Archive » If TV can’t reflect Britain, what chance has politics got? // Feb 12, 2008 at 9:43 pm
[…] Cringeworthy stuff from Gavin Whenman on the topic of positive discrimination again: To elaborate: Discrimination, of any kind, on a criteria which bears no relation to your ability to do the job, is wrong. It is fair to award party posts, such as PPCs, on the basis of merit only. It is not fair to award it on the basis of skin colour or ethnicity. To say that black or other people aren’t good enough to be MPs unless they have help from the white man is possibly the most patronising, shameful position we can take on this issue, and I hope Nick Clegg sees sense soon. […]
6 Gavin Whenman // Feb 12, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Meral, of course it bothers me that Parliament isn’t representative enough, I just disagree that this particular measure is the answer.
7 Duncan Borrowman // Feb 12, 2008 at 11:11 pm
The issue in the Lib Dems is the painful bureucracy that supports favoured sons by putting off anybody who is not an incumbent, whit, male from wasting there time challenging the status quo. The way to beat it is to open up the processes and make them worth the while of others to put in the effort challenging. Not quotas on gender or race or any other such measure. I agree with Meral on the problem, but not on the solution.
8 Duncan Borrowman // Feb 12, 2008 at 11:11 pm
whit=white
9 amphibious // Feb 13, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Sorry, new to this blog - what does BME stand for?
10 Gavin Whenman // Feb 13, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Black and ethnic minority.
11 Jo Christie-Smith // Feb 13, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Duncan: how do you do that then?
It’s easy to see that whatever we’re currently doing, it’s not working but harder to suggest what we do to persuade those people who are in very short supply to come and bother (for the reasons you point out); what are the things we need to change to do that?
12 Don Liberali // Feb 13, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I no understand Don Clegg’s idea yesterday, but I thinking it good idea to have all Neapolitan short-lists. Would help mainland cousins overcome natural disadvantages like history of oppression under French and Spanish colonial overlords, endemic corruption in towns of origin, and cultural traditions against working hard all year round.
Can see no other way we going to undermine rise of Ndrangheta unless we recruit more Neapolitans.
http://liberalimafia.blogspot.com/2008/02/don-clegg-to-back-no-sicilian-short.html
13 Robert // Feb 14, 2008 at 10:31 am
Yes and look at the mess we are in now women who became MP’s because they are women we have one god forgive, not because they are good enough, we parachuted a women into Parliament when in fact they were not good enough, and our area is struggling to come to terms, If I write to my MP a rely is given your MP’s is working hard and is very busy for your community, if you go to see them your given 5 minutes to put you piece, this is not why we pay these people.
It has become a nightmare.
14 amphibious // Feb 14, 2008 at 10:50 am
Gavin - Ta. I mused over various possible meanings and dismissed that one as too klunky and kack handed. I must have been away too long - has UK public discourse really descended to that sort of equivocal, milksop b/s?
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