Don’t leave voting to the better off in London

Raj Jethwa sets out the agenda for London ahead of the Mayoral and GLA elections next year.

Although many commentators have been quick to point out the decline in voter turnout since the mid-1960s, far fewer have discussed the role of class in this trend. The simple truth is that the decline in political participation has been most pronounced among those on the lowest incomes. More than 70 percent of those in social class AB voted in the 2005 General Election, compared to just 54 percent of those in social class DE.

This will be a major problem for Labour in the London elections. The official turnout figures for the 2001 and 2005 General Elections show that the seats with the lowest turnouts were overwhelmingly poor inner city constituencies; the ones with the highest turnouts were leafy and affluent. That also only includes turnout among registered voters. In some of the poorest neighbourhoods, up to 30 percent of adults are not on the electoral register.

The decline in voting is clearly a result of a declining belief in political efficacy among those who most need to see politics work. Voter registration and the state of Labour Party organisation on the ground will be key in the London elections. But so too will be the content of our programme. We need to show our core voters that there is a point to voting and that a vote for Labour on the London Assembly and for ken Livingstone as Mayor, will deliver the policies which are of most concern to those communities who would traditionally vote Labour. We need to ensure that people see the point of voting and bother to turnout to polling stations.

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Labour must ensure its politicians are diverse and representative

Raj Jethwa, the London Labour Party’s ethnic minority officer, argues that Labour must not get complacent about representation.

On 15 May, I attended a meeting of the Harrow Council Cabinet to provide support for Labour Councillor Nana Assante, who presented a petition against the Conservative administration’s threat to drastically reduce support for Black History Month in the borough. In the year that we celebrate 200 hundred years since the abolition of the slave trade in the UK, in one of the most diverse boroughs in the country, it beggars belief that Cameron’s new look Conservatives could be so culturally-insensitive.

If this illustrates one point in particular, it is that those striving for greater diversity in our political system shouldn’t hold their breathe waiting for the Tories.

In 2005 and 2006, Harrow’s Labour administration spent £10,000 on Black History Month, community groups were invited to participate in a Black History Month Forum, and events took place from September to November. This year the Conservative-run council proposes only one day of activities and has provided no details of a budget.

Celebrating Black History Month properly is an important way of improving the confidence and promoting the positive contributions of Black people in British society. Crucially, it is a key element of celebrating our diversity.

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