The head of Britain’s equality watchdog came under fire last night after claiming that someone like Barack Obama could never become Prime Minister because of institutional racism.

Labour MPs rounded on Trevor Phillips following his controversial comments about the US President-elect’s chances in Britain.

 

Mr Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said: “If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold

that there is on power within the Labour Party.”

 

He said the Conservatives had made more progress after leader David Cameron introduced the controversial “A list” of candidates to improve diversity. Of Britain’s 646 MPs, just two Tories and 13 Labour MPs are from ethnic minorities. Mr Phillips called for action from all parties but said he was opposed to all-black shortlists.

 

He added: “The parties, unions and think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business.”

 

But Labour’s Deputy Leader Harriet Harman said: “Labour is the party that has always championed equality.”

 

Adam Afriyie, black Conservative MP for Windsor, said he did not believe he would see a black PM in his lifetime. But black Tory peer Lord Taylor said: “If you believe you can achieve you will at least start the journey. What Trevor is saying is ‘don’t bother, just give up’. I cannot agree with that.”

 

Labour MP Dawn Butler said: “The Tories had their ‘A list’ and there was a riot and they had to abandon it. We have never had to abandon any of our equality measures.” And Communities Minister Sadiq Khan said voters judge politicians “by their policies, not by the colour of their skin”.

 

Mr Phillips later told Radio 4: “My point is that it’s very difficult for people who don’t fit a certain mould, and that is to do with ­gender, it’s to do with race and it’s to do with class, to find their way into the outer reaches of politics.”

 

Source: Sunday Express

 

Do you see the day anytime soon when the UK will have a non-white prime minister?

If they actually got onto the ballot paper, I think the British people wouldn't have any problem at all with electing a black person (I think there might be a problem with a Muslim though). But I just can't see a black person rising through the system in the foreseeable future.

We have so few black/asian MPs, let alone so few women MPs - it seems you need to be a white male to get anywhere in UK politics in the main (of course there are exceptions, and it only takes one exception to break the rule) but I don't think it will happen just yet sadly :(

 

I think MPs should be voted on ability not on colour/sex but it just is not happening as the rule.

Hmmm, well, considering that Nu Labor, to my recollection, has never had a non-white face in the high-end of the Cabinet in its whole 10 years in power, I rather think there IS something to Trevor Phillips' comments tbh.. Hell, even Dubya had Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell in important, key Govt roles, so what the fukk does that say....?

 

I also dont exactly see very many Black or Asian candidates getting put forward to "fight" for elections in safe seats either....

How much % of UK population is black??? I suppose it´s nowhere near as much as in America, which makes things a lot harder.

Phillips is playing the race card :manson:

 

I am sure if there was a black or Asian person who was good enough or whatever then they would become an MP but obviously no high quality black or asian people are putting themselves forward as candidates in the first place, if Phillips knows of some black people who have been rejected by constituencies who he thinks have serious potential then he should name names if not he should just get a carpenter to remove that giant chip off his shoulder

 

 

Phillips is playing the race card :manson:

 

I dont think he is tbh.. Look at the totally disproportionate influence that Jews have had in Govt (Lord Levy, etc...). how much of the UK population is Jewish...? The likes of Bernie Grant and Diane Abbot have never even had a sniff at holding that sort of influence.... So, like it or not, I think Phillips has a point... The Govt and Civil Service is still very much an "old (white) boys' network", this surely cannot be disputed.....

 

I dont think he is tbh.. Look at the totally disproportionate influence that Jews have had in Govt (Lord Levy, etc...). how much of the UK population is Jewish...? The likes of Bernie Grant and Diane Abbot have never even had a sniff at holding that sort of influence.... So, like it or not, I think Phillips has a point... The Govt and Civil Service is still very much an "old (white) boys' network", this surely cannot be disputed.....

 

There should not be blacks for the sake of being blacks though, if there is someone with exceptional talent who is black i am sure they would have no problems getting a seat but the fact that there are so few blacks in parliament and those there have been have been undistinguished (Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott have been extreme left wing firebrands and Boateng was up to his neck in sleaze) it makes me think it is more to do with the calibre of black person coming forward as opposed to the fact that that person is black, I want to see the best people in parliament their skin colour to me should be irrelevant

 

And what Phillips is saying will have a negative effect on blacks choosing a career in politics, they will read his comments and think it is not worth trying to become a politician.

 

Obama is the sort of politician that comes around once in a generation, I think if someone who is black turned up at local Labour or conservative party meetings and showed great oratory skills and charisma I am sure they would rise through the ranks fast

 

There should not be blacks for the sake of being blacks though, if there is someone with exceptional talent who is black i am sure they would have no problems getting a seat but the fact that there are so few blacks in parliament and those there have been have been undistinguished (Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott have been extreme left wing firebrands and Boateng was up to his neck in sleaze) it makes me think it is more to do with the calibre of black person coming forward as opposed to the fact that that person is black, I want to see the best people in parliament their skin colour to me should be irrelevant

 

agreed :)

(Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott have been extreme left wing firebrands

 

What you mean, they were actual PROPER, Labour Party people as opposed to spivvy spin merchants of the Blair/Mandelson/Campbell school....? :rolleyes: Being a Leftie sure as hell never stopped Tony Benn from being in the Cabinet and a VERY prominent and much respected Labour man, or indeed Dennis Skinner from being the Chairman of the Labour Party for several years in the late 80s; Clare Short from being a well respected Parliamentarian and Cabinet Member, and general woman of principle, and "Red" Ken Livingstone from being leader of the GLC and Mayor of London....

 

So, talking bollocks as usual then innit...? :rolleyes:

 

What you mean, they were actual PROPER, Labour Party people as opposed to spivvy spin merchants of the Blair/Mandelson/Campbell school....? :rolleyes: Being a Leftie sure as hell never stopped Tony Benn from being in the Cabinet and a VERY prominent and much respected Labour man, or indeed Dennis Skinner from being the Chairman of the Labour Party for several years in the late 80s; Clare Short from being a well respected Parliamentarian and Cabinet Member, and general woman of principle, and "Red" Ken Livingstone from being leader of the GLC and Mayor of London....

 

So, talking bollocks as usual then innit...? :rolleyes:

 

Bernie Grant after the Tottenham riots supported the rioters and said the police deserved "a damn good hiding" this was after the brutal murder of PC Keith Blakelock who nearly had his head severed by a machete, for a law maker to be condoning those that murdered an officer of the law and injured several others made him totally unfit to be an MP, black or white parliament is better off without scum like he was

 

Benn, Short, Skinner no matter how left wing they are would ever have supported the murder and injuring of police officers

Bernie Grant after the Tottenham riots supported the rioters and said the police deserved "a damn good hiding" this was after the brutal murder of PC Keith Blakelock who nearly had his head severed by a machete, for a law maker to be condoning those that murdered an officer of the law and injured several others made him totally unfit to be an MP, black or white parliament is better off without scum like he was

 

Hate to say it, but I'm with Bernie tbh... Considering what a brutally racist bunch of fukkin' b'astards the Met Police were (and still are to a degree..) back in the 70s and early 80s, they probably DID deserve a good kicking.... You forget mate, it aint the man who takes the beating, it's the uniform and what it stands for.... Same goes for the Miners Strike... The Police deliberately acted as Agents Provocateurs during that, totally goading the miners and their supporters, and they've done the same at some Demos I've been on, taking photos and videos of protestors, deliberately trying to wind up the crowd... The Police are right b/astards sometimes mate....

We have so few black/asian MPs

 

15/646.

 

But there does seem to be a point - using it in another field, how many teams in the top four divisions have black managers? I can only name two - Blackburn and Macclesfield.

Sadly Trevor Phillips is correct.

 

Until I had the internet I would never have believed how bad the problem of racism was.

 

For example on the BBC internet sports boards the likes of Tiger Woods, Venus & Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Christine Ohuruogu, etc get some truly awful abusive things said against them compared to sports athletes of a Caucasian skin colour.

 

Whilst the abuse that black English footballers Rio Ferdinand, Emilie Heskey, Ashley Cole (mind you I think he deserves it), Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc get compared to the likes of John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, etc is very similar.

 

However, I think the real & biggest problem for the UK is that we have a far greater embedded "Class system" than the USA.

 

Unfortunately it seems to be the more older, richer & politically right-wing you are the more racist behaviour you'll see, and total denial of a problem.

 

Therefore as the older Daily Mail reading generation lament the days of The Black & White Minstrels and the ending of legislation against homosexuals then it is going to be longer for todays generation to equalise the balance in society that you see happening in America right now.

 

 

Sadly Trevor Phillips is correct.

 

Until I had the internet I would never have believed how bad the problem of racism was.

 

For example on the BBC internet sports boards the likes of Tiger Woods, Venus & Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Christine Ohuruogu, etc get some truly awful abusive things said against them compared to sports athletes of a Caucasian skin colour.

 

Whilst the abuse that black English footballers Rio Ferdinand, Emilie Heskey, Ashley Cole (mind you I think he deserves it), Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc get compared to the likes of John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, etc is very similar.

 

However, I think the real & biggest problem for the UK is that we have a far greater embedded "Class system" than the USA.

 

Unfortunately it seems to be the more older, richer & politically right-wing you are the more racist behaviour you'll see, and total denial of a problem.

 

Therefore as the older Daily Mail reading generation lament the days of The Black & White Minstrels and the ending of legislation against homosexuals then it is going to be longer for todays generation to equalise the balance in society that you see happening in America right now.

 

Are they all from Britain though that post on the BBC boards ?

 

Most of the racism and hatred of Hamilton seems to stem from Spain and the likes of Spain and Croatia have a terrible record of abuse towards black footballers

 

I use a Spurs board (9000 members) and 99% of the abuse seems to be directed towards Terry, Lampard, Berbatov, Van Persie etc the only black player really getting stick is Sol Campbell for the way he stitched us up

 

You are right about the older generation, they were bought up on Alf Garnett, Black and White Minstrel Show and election posters saying "if you want a n***** for a neighbour vote labour" which occured in one election in the 1960's, times have moved on from there in terms of race relations but it will take another generation for there to be pretty much a racist free society

 

Sadly Trevor Phillips is correct.

 

Until I had the internet I would never have believed how bad the problem of racism was.

 

For example on the BBC internet sports boards the likes of Tiger Woods, Venus & Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Christine Ohuruogu, etc get some truly awful abusive things said against them compared to sports athletes of a Caucasian skin colour.

 

Whilst the abuse that black English footballers Rio Ferdinand, Emilie Heskey, Ashley Cole (mind you I think he deserves it), Shaun Wright-Phillips, etc get compared to the likes of John Terry, Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, etc is very similar.

 

However, I think the real & biggest problem for the UK is that we have a far greater embedded "Class system" than the USA.

 

Unfortunately it seems to be the more older, richer & politically right-wing you are the more racist behaviour you'll see, and total denial of a problem.

 

Therefore as the older Daily Mail reading generation lament the days of The Black & White Minstrels and the ending of legislation against homosexuals then it is going to be longer for todays generation to equalise the balance in society that you see happening in America right now.

The original article misrepresents what Trevor Phillips said. In his actual comments, he not only said he felt that the PEOPLE would be fine with electing a black person, being black would actually probably earn him extra votes even from white people, which I agree.

 

He was saying the racism lied in the upper reaches of political parties where black people just can't break through (which I agree with).

However, I think the real & biggest problem for the UK is that we have a far greater embedded "Class system" than the USA.

 

blame william the conquerer for that...

 

but it will take another generation for there to be pretty much a racist free society

 

tbh i dont think we will ever see a racist free society... theres too much resentment over unfettered immigration (regardless of skin colour) and a strengthening 'non christian' religious element in society. any strong religious belief system has prejudice against 'unclean','non believers', and anyone who doesnt measure up. plus you have the idiotic ott pc brigade who are trying to be overly accomodating to ethnic groups on their behalf which is fueling racial unrest.