Muhammad Anwar - Race and politics : ethnic minorities and the British political system

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ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: POLITICAL SCIENCE

RACE AND POLITICS

RACE AND POLITICS

Ethnic Minorities
and the British Political System

By

MUHAMMAD ANWAR

Volume 38

First published 1986

This edition first published in 2010
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

1986 Muhammad Anwar

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 10: 0-415-49111-8 (Set)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-49111-2 (Set)

ISBN 10: 0-415-55579-5 (Volume 38)
ISBN 13: 978-0-415-55579-1 (Volume 38)

Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

RACE and POLITICS

Ethnic minorities and the
British political system

Muhammad Anwar

First published in 1986 by
Tavistock Publications Ltd
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE

Published in the USA by
Tavistock Publications
in association with Methuen, Inc.
29 West 35th Street, New York NY 10001

1986 Muhammad Anwar

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Anwar, Muhammad

Race and politics: ethnic minorities
and the British political system.

1. Minorities Great Britain Political
activity 2. Great Britain Politics
and government 1979
1. Title

306.2 DA125.A1

ISBN 0-422-79840-1
ISBN 0-422-79850-9 Pbk

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Anwar, Muhammad.
Race and Politics.

(Social Science Paperbacks, 315)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.

1. Minorities Great Britain Political activity.

2. Great Britain Politics and government 1979

3. Great Britain Race relations.

4. Great Britain Ethnic relations.

I. Title. II. Series.

DA125.A1A85 1986 305.800941 865715

ISBN 0-422-79840-1
ISBN 0-422-79850-9 (pbk.)

To my father
and in memory of my mother

Contents

Terminology

The term ethnic minority is used throughout the book for those people whose origin is mainly from the New Commonwealth countries and Pakistan (NCWP). The two main groups of ethnic minorities in Britain are the Asians and the Afro-Caribbeans.

About the tables

1. Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number and, therefore, some tables do not add up to 100.
2. A dash () is used for zero per cent but smaller than 1.00 per cent is shown by an asterisk (*).

Preface

Ethnic minorities are an integral part of British society. Their fullest involvement in all aspects of British public life is crucial if we are to create a society free of racial disadvantage and racial discrimination. I believe that, in addition to the economic progress of ethnic minorities, their integration into the political process is of fundamental importance. Furthermore, as we would like to see more professionals employed from the ethnic minorities, similarly there should be more decision-makers from these communities.

However, the representation of ethnic minorities in the mainstream of British politics is still very small, though their participation in elections has increased recently. In the last few years, political parties have become more aware of the importance of the ethnic minority vote and the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities as elected people and party officials. Some efforts have already been made to encourage ethnic minorities to become members of the political parties, and ethnic minorities have responded to these efforts. But more needs to be done.

I believe that the integration of ethnic minorities into the political process requires their effective, not token, representation and involvement. They need to feel and participate fully in the decision-making process in order to feel that they are accepted as full citizens of this country.

Political involvement, power, and influence in British politics is important to highlight issues both through the ballot box and through politicians, party officials, committees, and civil servants. These channels are fundamental to influencing political decisions. In addition to voting at election times, the on-going and effective involvement of ethnic minorities in the political process is essential and should be beneficial to race relations generally and to help achieve equality of opportunity in our society, in particular. Continuous lobbying through pressure groups based on specific issues or through other interest groups and voluntary ethnic minority organizations is also important. The role of the media in this context is important too: these pressure points are crucial for democracy and for racial equality.

It was with the importance of the ethnic minorities in the political process in mind that I monitored the participation of Asians in Rochdale in the parliamentary by-election in 1972. Since that time, I have monitored all the general elections and some local elections. These studies were undertaken first on behalf of the Community Relations Commission (CRC) and now by the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE).

No comprehensive work is published covering all aspects of the participation of ethnic minorities in the British political process. This book, based on my research work in this field for the last thirteen years, will go some way to filling that gap. It covers various aspects of the participation of ethnic minorities in the political process. It also indicates the future role and direction for their participation in the decision-making process. In particular, it both looks at the response of the political parties and the ethnic minorities in this context, and suggests ways to improve the representation of ethnic minorities in this very important area.

My thanks are due, first, to several of my colleagues at the Commission for Racial Equality and at Community Relations Councils for their help. I am also grateful to many others outside the community relations field, in particular to Dr Mich Le Lohe and John Hanvey.

Throughout the course of my research for this book I have been assisted by several other individuals, including the respondents and the political party officials, who freely gave their time. I am grateful to all these. Their co-operation enabled me to produce this book, though they are not in any way responsible for what it says.

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