Tony Sewell And Misery Mirza. A Commission of Infamy.

The Government's announcement that it has appointed Tony Sewell as chair of the government committee looking into race disparity in the UK has left many black people, angry, disappointed and exasperated. 

The decision to appoint a man who doesn't believe in the existence of institutionalised racism, into an enquiry into the disproportionate deaths of members of the BAMEcommunitie, on the very same, would be funny if were not so profoundly offensive.  

However, this appointment should surprise no one, for sitting at the heart of this Johnsonian Government is a cabal of African, Caribbean, and Asian apologists for British racism. United only by opportunity and white patronage some have become the useful idiots of a government that is ideologically blind to the realities of systemic, and institutionalised racism.

This Government presides over criminal justice and policing system that actively criminalises African, Caribbean, Muslim and Traveller communities, where citizenship and the quality of justice and policing, are determined by the colour of your skin, the God you pray too, or the "outsider" culture you belong to. 

Please take a look online on any given day and see the viral racism inflicted on our communities by a majority white police force. Go to any court in the land and watch how justice is far too often determined, not by the law of the land, but by the shade of the hand that dispenses it. 

In the context of this appointment, it's now hard to reconcile the fact that Prime Minister announced race inequality commission, was a direct response to the Black Lives Matter movement demonstrations and a disproportionate number of BAME people affected by Covid-19 virus. Much like the Windrush Lessons Learned review, the Grenfell Tower Fire Inquiry, or the Undercover Police Inquiry the Conservative Party, under both Theresa May and the current Prime Minister, has perfected the art of political Aikido. 

This is the strategy of regularly admitting guilt and offering an apology, followed by setting up of public inquiries that are designed to absorb the energy, take the heat out of any emerging crisis, sucking people into a Byzantine maze of legalese and compound injustice that changes absolutely nothing. It is no surprise therefore that after ten years of Conservative rule we've had more public Inquiries than all of the previous post-war governments combined.

The commissions' objectives are to look at all aspects of racial inequality in areas such as education, health, employment and criminal justice. 

Now to be fair, Tony Sewell is a Doctor of Philosophy, and he did chair the London Mayor's Education Enquiry during Boris Johnson tenure as Mayor in 2012.

So has done some great work with young people over the last 15 years. His charity Generating Genius has claimed remarkable success in working with black boys, in particular in developing their academic potential and achievement. 

However, it's not all peaches and cream, both he and Trevor go back a long way. They worked together on the profoundly controversial Channel 4 documentary Saving Ryan broadcast in 2003 an unethical exploitation of a young black boy where they attempted to play God with the life of 14-year-old troubled black boy Ryan Bell. What followed was a sensationalist Pygmalion type TV documentary. 

Tony and Trevor devised the whole experiment. The Phillips TV production company, Pepper Productions convinced Bells family to take part by offering them a chance of a 'lifetime'. Channel 4 funded the documentary that took a young black boy from a challenging neighbourhood and placed him in Downsides, the oldest Catholic boarding school in the country and one of the top private sector schools in the UK. 

After initially thriving, Ryan was eventually unfairly expelled from the school. Trevor and Tony having made both headlines and cash abandoned Ryan who once the cameras are gone was left unsupported in this alien environment. All too predictably Ryan became a victim of the very academic racism both Trevor and Tony said didn't exist. It was tantamount to child abuse, and the effects were devastating for Ryan and his family.

So Sewell's track record is deeply tainted, writing again for another right-wing magazine, Prospect in an article entitled "Masterclass in victimhood" Tony argues that the black attainment education gap has nothing to do with institutionalised racism, he takes aim at Diane Abbott MP who has dedicated her entire political life to tackling these issues, in addition to respected academic researchers such as Professors David Gillborn and Heide Mirza (no relation) all were summarily dismissed by Sewell. 

"My challenge to these claims is that times have changed. What we now see in schools is children undermined by poor parenting, peer-group pressure and an inability to be responsible for their own behaviour. They are not subjects of institutional racism. They have failed their GCSEs because they did not do the homework, did not pay attention and were disrespectful to their teachers. "

So Tony's appointment is seen as profoundly controversial by the vast majority of BAME communities and beyond. He suffers an inglorious track record of both denying and disputing the reality of institutionalised racism and its effects. And, as any quick online search will confirm, he seems to have made up his mind on the Covid-19 crisis and black communities already.

Writing in the Telegraph on the 7th May under the headline "Structural Racism doesn't explain why black people are more likely to die from COVID." Sewell pulls no punches in explaining why he refuses to accept an analysis that includes institutionalised racism and structural inequality as an explanation for the disproportionate impact on black communities.

Boris's Special adviser Munira Mirza who has overall responsibility for the commission and is Head of the Policy Unit at number 10 Downing Street appointed Tony. Known in black communities as Misery Mirza, and another former member of Boris's London mayoral team, she has consistently dismissed the reality of institutionalised, systemic racism.

Following the David Lammy MP Review into the treatment of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups within the justice system published during Theresa May's premiership, Mirza wrote a piece in the controversial climate denial, libertarian, right-wing, online magazine Spiked, criticising the review in an article titled "Lammy review: the myth of institutional racism". 

She wrote, "Certainly there is a historic legacy here from previous decades, but it is equally possible that the current accusations of institutional racism by lobbyists and activists – a perception more than reality – is behind the further corrosion of public trust."

And writing on her blog on the Windrush scandal in a piece entitled "Weaponising Victimhood" she argues that the scandal had nothing to do with racism, she writes,

 "The government's attempt to impose a hostile environment on illegal immigrants inadvertently caught a small group of older people of Caribbean heritage…" Adding "the real lesson is not one of racism, as in the deliberate targeting of ethnic minority groups, rather it is that the process of immigration enforcement needs to be improved".

Again in the Telegraph on the 7th May in a desperate attempt to support Trevor Phillips's comments questioning whether structural inequality can be credibly offered as part of the explanation for ethnic disproportionality are, Tony repeats Trevor's assertion that Tower Hamlets low rate of Covid19 infection proves that disproportionately BAME deaths have nothing to do with racism.

"He (Trevor Phillips) has raised questions about whether we can assume that poverty is the key determinant. He has also talked about looking not so much at who is infected but who is not. For example, The London borough of Tower Hamlets is more than a third Muslim — the highest density of any in England — and is sandwiched between two Covid-19 hotspots, Newham and Southwark, both home to substantial non-Muslim minority communities. It is also among the most deprived neighbourhoods in London. Yet Tower Hamlets lies in the bottom third of the capital's infection list."

The problem for both Tony and Trevor is that the facts brutally undermine their position as we know them today. Tower Hamlets has a Covid-19 infection rate of 2.8 which places it not in the bottom third of London boroughs, but in the top 15 London boroughs, all of London's major Muslim communities are included. And the latest figures tell us that Tower Hamlets is one of the 12 London boroughs where Covid-19 infection rates are rising fast.

Their position is further undermined by the report published by Public Health England on 16th June "Beyond the data; understanding the impact of COVID-19 on BAME Groups" the report cites issues such as housing, occupational risks, financial vulnerabilities and experience of racism as critical social and structural causes of BAME vulnerability to the virus.  

Both Tony and Trevor are listed as senior fellows of the Policy Exchange a centre-right policy think tank credited as being one of the most influential think tanks on the right.

This small cabal of black conservatives and centre-right thinkers are running a determined ideological campaign to dismantle the concept of institutionalised racism and Sewell is running a dangerous line as part of this campaign.

Writing again in the Telegraph in an article entitled, "Genetics is the 'bad boy' of science, but it may give us part of the answer" Tony argues that the health inequalities suffered by BAME communities are genetic. So not only are we a culturally pathological dysfunctional community, we are genetically inferior too. 

Of course, such an analysis is only half the story. Scientific research on the intergenerational transmission of stress demonstrates that our "genetic" disposition to specific health conditions can be attributed to the long-term socio-economic exclusion and the subsequent poverty of communities that causes ill health and results in the epigenetic transmission of stress and ill-health across generations. 

There can be no doubt that this all forms part of a conflict covert Tory campaign to attack, discredit, undermine and dismantle the concept of institutional and systemic racism.

So what should be our response? In my view, in the context of a radical black lives matter movement demanding radical change, we collectively as BAME communities need to send a clear warning shot to this Government to cease and desist. 

In short Tony Sewell must be removed as chair of this commission. 

It is abundantly clear, beyond any reasonable doubt that he is deeply partisan and what any commission needs is a respected independent chair, that is willing to be led by the scientific evidence not some half baked ideological agenda. 

Tony should take a deep breath and take a long hard look in the mirror and ask himself is he willing to sacrifice what's left of his career and personal reputation for Boris Johnson? 

Momentum Black Caucus Calls Black Labour Members Call To Action After Devastating Report on BAME Labour .

As a previously excluded, and now returning member, of the Labour Party and the independent Momentum Black Caucus (MBC) I recently attempted to join BAME Labour, in the hope that I could use my modest political and policy experience, to become involved in helping to think about and developing specific race equality and social justice policies within the Labour party. 

But before I proceed, let me give you a little by way of contact and background. 

On June 30th in Leeds, BAME Labour will convene to look at new constitutional arrangements for the organisation, and to address the development of race equality policy within the party. 

Chair BAME Labour Muhammad Afzal

It is absolutely vital that black members of the Labour Party attend this event in huge numbers. If you don't know who the BAME Labour  leadership is, I have added the entire executives pictures to this article.

Momentum Black Caucus is calling upon the entire black Labour movement to attend and grasp this opportunity to address fundamental failings within the Labour Party and the wider Labour and trade union movement. 

Kamaljeet Jandu

I'd be more precise dear reader, but at the time of writing this article, the BAME Labour website hadn't been updated in over a year, so some of the exec as featured here may no longer be on the executive, who knows ? Not I. 

We at MBC also note that conference bookings for the forthcoming Leeds event appear to be closed, however with just days to go to the event, it is vital, given the issues discussed here, that the booking deadline is extended and if necessary, a bigger venue is found to accommodate all those who wish to attend.

Back to the matter at hand. My own political assessment of Labour's current policy response to racism, is informed by 40 years of experience. In short, I have come to the conclusion, that both the Labour Party and the Trade Union movement have, by and large,  fundamentally failed to fully recognise or identify policy solutions that are capable of the tackling the breadth, depth and extent of racism and discrimination, both within their own ranks, and wider society. 

In addition there is the continued failure of black leadership from senior figures within the party. There are some notable exceptions. The work of Diane Abbott MP on black children and education has been exemplary. More latterly, the work of backbench MP David Lammy on issues of Grenfell and Windrush also comes to mind. Think about it, can you name any other Black MP that provides a lead for an area of concern to black communities or is a recognised  advocate for some other issue of national concern ? 

Keith Vaz MP 

One would have thought that BAME Labour should have been leading internal debates seeking to ensure that the Labour Party and the Trade Union movement were both representative and politically inclusive. There is no unity amongst senior black figures in the party and no shared consensus or coherent view on tackling institutionalised racism.

Gloria Mills

As for BAME Labour, other than an occasional tweet from their moribund and desolate social media account, they’ve remained conspicuous by their absence in this most important debate. 

Other than the annual Trades Union Congress Black Workers Conference, where black trade union activists repeatedly pass excellent motions, most of which are largely ignored by the TUC and individual trade unions, there is little evidence of the development of a substantive and coherent policy agenda, capable of delivering race equality in 50 life lifetimes, much a less a single parliamentary term.

A recent explosive survey conducted by Momentum of almost 1000 black and minority Labour members brutally exposes, the ineptitude, lack of leadership and political bankruptcy of the current BAME Labour leadership. The results are absolutely devastating for Labour;

Dr Joe Ukemenam

• 40%​ ​of​ ​the​ ​respondents​ ​had​ ​never​ ​even​ ​heard​ ​of​ ​the​ ​BAME​ ​Labour,​ ​only​ ​13%​ ​said​ ​they were​ ​members,​ ​and​ ​19%​ ​said​ ​they​ ​didn’t​ ​know​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​members​ ​or​ ​not.​ ​Only​ ​6% stated​ ​they​ ​received​ ​ballot​ ​papers​ ​in​ ​last​ ​Summer’s​ ​BAME​ ​election,​ ​demonstrating widespread​ ​confusion​ ​over​ ​and​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​clarity​ ​over​ ​people’s​ ​membership​ ​of​ ​the organisation​ ​eligibility​ ​to​ ​vote​ ​in​ ​elections. 
• 55%​ ​stated​ ​they​ ​have​ ​no​ ​knowledge​ ​whatsoever​ ​of​ ​the​ ​organisation,​ ​and​ ​33%​ ​said​ ​they had​ ​very​ ​little​ ​knowledge,​ ​suggesting​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​isn’t​ ​a​ ​meaningful​​organisation​ ​for the​ ​BAME​ ​members.​
• ​When​ ​asked​ ​if​ ​they​ ​have​ ​an​ ​ethnic​ ​minority​ ​forum​ ​in​ ​their​ ​CLP, 59%​ ​of​ ​respondents​ ​stated​ ​they​ ​were​ ​unaware,​ ​34%​ ​said​ ​there​ ​isn’t​ ​one,​ ​and​ ​6%​ ​said they​ ​have​ ​one. 
• With​ ​regards​ ​to​ ​BAME​ ​members’​ ​representation​ ​on​ ​the​ ​National​ ​Executive​ ​Committee(NEC)​ ​78%​ ​of​ ​respondents​ ​said​ ​the​ ​positions​ ​should​ ​be​ ​elected​ ​by​ ​One​ ​Member​ ​One Vote​ ​of​ ​BAME​ ​members​ ​(in​ ​contrast​ ​to​ ​the​ ​current​ ​elections​ ​which​ ​are​ ​restricted​ ​to​ ​the tiny​ ​number​ ​of​ ​people​ ​who​ ​are​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​members),​ ​and​ ​only​ ​6%​ ​opposed​ ​this. 

​​

The report then goes on to conclude;

" The​ ​survey​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​most​ ​members​ ​believe​ ​Labour​ ​has​ ​a​ ​long​ ​way​ ​to​ ​go​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​its treatment​ ​of​ ​BAME​ ​members​ ​and​ ​supporters.​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​has​ ​been​ ​allowed​ ​to​ ​stagnate, characterised​ ​by​ ​poor​ ​administration,​ ​opaque​ ​structures​ ​and​ ​procedures,​ ​an​ ​absence​ ​of engagement,​ ​and​ ​a​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​autonomy,​ ​contributing​ ​to​ ​an​ ​atrophy​ ​of​ ​membership​ ​from​ ​the​ ​low figure​ ​of​ ​3363​ ​members​ ​in​ ​2010​ ​to​ ​just​ ​731​ ​in​ ​2017.​ ​

This report goes on to say;

" This​ ​has​ ​compounded​ ​historical​ ​trends​ ​of disempowerment​ ​of​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​members​ ​and​ ​supporters,​ ​caused​ ​by​ ​the​ ​party’s​ ​tendency​ ​to engage​ ​them​ ​through​ ​tokenism​ ​and​ ​clientelism.​ ​

Whilst​ ​support​ ​for​ ​the​ ​party​ ​amongst​ ​BAME communities​ ​has​ ​recovered​ ​thanks​ ​to​ ​support​ ​for​ ​the​ ​2017​ ​party​ ​manifesto​ ​and​ ​leadership, serious​ ​structural​ ​changes​ ​to​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​are​ ​required​ ​if​ ​the​ ​party​ ​is​ ​to​ ​empower​ ​Britain’s BAME​ ​communities.​ ​Momentum​ ​is​ ​circulating​ ​​proposals​ ​to​ ​this​ ​effect​​ ​​for​ ​BAME​ ​members​ ​and supporters​ ​to​ ​submit​ ​into​ ​the​ ​Democracy​ ​Review. "

Such a devastating critique should lead to automatic resignations from those who presided over, what I consider the most profound failure of black political leadership I've seen in a generation.

Over the last ten years, we’ve seen the consequences of this devastating failure has led to a leadership and policy vacuum, which has been filled largely by white senior Labour and Trade Union figures, struggling and failing to construct a coherent policy agenda on race inequality. BAME Labour has become redundant and needs fresh, accountable, ethical leadership.

As a result of these failures, we have party that is ambivalent about the reality of institutional racism, a party that has played footsie with xenophobia in relation to immigration policy, and adopted ad hoc, tokenistic and weak policy agenda’s, that failed to reflect with the lived day to day, Black experience of racial discrimination and structural inequality. 

During the last decade I’ve have the proud honour of being found co chair of Black Activists Rising Against The Cuts (BARAC) black community/trade union campaigning group, founded in 2010 to highlight the disastrous impact of austerity on already disadvantaged, black and ethnic minority communities. 

Other than support from the progressive PCS Union, whose track record on tackling racism should be an exemplar for the entire trade union movement, we received no support from any other trade union.

The reality is, the level of racism, ignorance and misunderstanding amongst trade unionists about the realities of racism in the workplace and the complexities of the law protecting the workers from discrimination, remains both deep and profound. Contrast their failure in this area with the success of gender equality. 

Over the last 30 years, and in particular the last decade, I have personally met and represented thousands of black and ethnic minority trade unionists, who when appealing for solidarity and support in challenging racism in the workplace, have found themselves abandoned by their trade union. 

On far too many occasions, I've seen "white privilege" shared amongst trade union representatives, white employers and senior managers. By that I mean trade unionists who've actively colluded with management racism in targeting black workers. Many would say that's impossible,  however mine and the experience of thousands of other Black trade Unionists, tells me that institutional and cultural racism remains rife within the trade union movement and the Labour Party itself.

In some instances, trade unions themselves have been guilty of racism towards their own employees. And in Labour councils I've seen austerity eagerly pursued with such viciousness, that it's implementation has resulted in disproportionate numbers of black and minority workers, facing compulsory redundancies, disproportionate grievance and disciplinary investigations and sackings, without a word from the responsible local Labour leadership. 

Back then in 2010/11 we called upon Trade Unions to challenge the Tory budgets in the courts, about their obvious failure to conduct proper equality assessments, as required under the Equalities Act 2010 and launch a series of judicial reviews, challenging the government's assertion that there was no identified disproportionate impacts on black communities. 

Nothing was done and as anticipated racial inequality and workplace racism has massively increased and widened as a result.

Back in the real world meanwhile, racial inequality, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission in their report published in 2017 is currently at it's highest level ever.

In addition, the result of the Brexit referendum has unleashed an appalling wave of racism and we've seen hate crimes rise incredibly, as a result. 

The ongoing mass criminalisation of black communities, in terms of policing and criminal justice is at at its highest level since the late 70’s and early eighties. 

David Lammy MP ‘s recent excellent report on racism and criminal justice, and the government's own biannual, Race and the Criminal Justice System reports, brutally highlight an apartheid like criminal justice system, that ruthlessly targets black people with a routine culture of disbelief, targeted racial profiling by the police and disproportionate criminal justice sanctions by the courts, that conspire to further oppress British black communities, with a ruthless efficiency.

The current Windrush scandal has its historic roots in the Labour Party's approach to immigration during it's 13 years in power. 

The brutal truth is, that it was New Labour that first introduced the idea of a hostile climate for migrants. The Tories just took it to its logical conclusion, the illegal repatriation of black British citizens to former Commonwealth countries. 

Any political audit of the decisions that led to Windrush generation being unable to legally challenge immigration decisions in the UK, will demonstrate the real extent to which senior Labour figures, led the Tories down the path of xenophobic racism and injustice in relation to British immigration policy.

And, as bad as that is, and let's face it, it's utterly appalling, the British Labour movement’s complicity with racism goes much deeper than that. 

The esteemed Runnymede Trust regularly produces, periodic reports on racial inequality in London. They’ve identified a number of London Labour local councils as being responsible for some of the highest levels of racial inequality found anywhere in the United Kingdom. The response from the Labour Party ? Total and utter silence.

And as Co Chair of BARAC I’ve witnessed Labour and the Trade Union movement continually failing to connect with young British black communities. Their preferred preference has been to largely focus on the occasional rise of organised fascism, at the expense of industrialised nature of every day, insidious and much more common, institutionalised and systemic racism. 

Labour councils have the highest rate of race employment tribunal convictions than any other party in the UK. That is a damning indictment on Labour's commitment to race equality.

So, being aware of the calamitous failure on race equality issues within Labour and wanting to ensure that Labour corrected this political failure, and developed the best possible policy articulation on race equality, I paid my £5 pounds and sat back expecting an email to acknowledge and confirm my membership of BAME Labour. 

As the days, turned into weeks, I was left in a state of puzzlement as to why I've not received not any acknowledgement of my membership, information about the organisation. Too date I haven't received a damn thing and I'm not alone, apparently, lots of other potential member have suffered exactly the same experience. 

I've subsequently chased up the organisation via email and DM, I had zero response. This apparent chaos of the organisation is left bare for all to see. The truth of it is BAME Labour has become a shell organization, with no real functioning leadership, operating administration or policy back-end. 

And lets be clear here, had this been a white organisation we would have called them out a long time ago. My own view is having just been re-admitted to the party, and set against the context of ever worsening racism, BAME Labour leadership and some senior MPs must now be held to keen account for this disastrous and calamitous state of affairs. 

The organisation is shambolic, ineffective, lacking in accountability, whilst failing in relation to ethical leadership or to address worsening racism or the critical reduction in the number of African and Caribbean members who are selected or elected as officials or representatives of the party.

If even basic administrative functions are incapable of being delivered by BAME Labour, then I think we can be clear, that the organisation as it currently stands, is not fit for purpose.

Other than the occasional tweet, here and there, I've seen nothing from the organisation that addresses the huge and growing crisis of racial inequality and injustice facing our communities. 

A recent explosive survey of Black, Asian and ethnic minority Labour Party members conducted by Momentum found an appalling state of affairs. 

They asked nearly 1000 members what was their personal experience of BAME Labour, The results constitute a devastating indictment of past and current leadership. Here are the results of that survey;

·      40%​ ​of​ ​the​ ​respondents​ ​had​ ​never​ ​even​ ​heard​ ​of​ ​the​ ​BAME​ ​Labour,​ ​only​ ​13%​ ​said​ ​they were​ ​members,​ ​and​ ​19%​ ​said​ ​they​ ​didn’t​ ​know​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​members​ ​or​ ​not.​ ​

·      Only​ ​6% stated​ ​they​ ​received​ ​ballot​ ​papers​ ​in​ ​last​ ​Summer’s​ ​BAME​ ​election,​ ​demonstrating widespread​ ​confusion​ ​over​ ​and​ ​lack​ ​of​ ​clarity​ ​over​ ​people’s​ ​membership​ ​of​ ​the organisation​ ​eligibility​ ​to​ ​vote​ ​in​ ​election.

·      55%​ ​stated​ ​they​ ​have​ ​no​ ​knowledge​ ​whatsoever​ ​of​ ​the​ ​organisation,​ ​and​ ​33%​​said​ ​they had​ ​very​ ​little​ ​knowledge,​ ​suggesting​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​isn’t​ ​a​ ​meaningful​ ​organisation​ ​for the​ ​BAME​ ​members.​

·      When​ ​asked​ ​if​ ​they​ ​have​ ​an​ ​ethnic​ ​minority​ ​forum​ ​in​ ​their​ ​CLP, 59%​ ​of​ ​respondents​ ​stated​ ​they​ ​were​ ​unaware,​ ​34%​ ​said​ ​there​ ​isn’t​ ​one,​ ​and​ ​6%​​said they​ ​have​ ​one. 

·      With​ ​regards​ ​to​ ​BAME​ ​members’​ ​representation​ ​on​ ​the​ ​National​ ​Executive​ ​Committee (NEC)​​78%​ ​of​ ​respondents​ ​said​ ​the​ ​positions​ ​should​ ​be​ ​elected​ ​by​ ​One​ ​Member​ ​One Vote​ ​of​ ​BAME​ ​members​​(in​ ​contrast​ ​to​ ​the​ ​current​ ​elections​ ​which​ ​are​ ​restricted​ ​to​ ​the tiny​ ​number​ ​of​ ​people​ ​who​ ​are​ ​BAME​ ​Labour​ ​members),​ ​and​ ​only​ ​6%​ ​opposed​ ​this. 

The survey also found that in 2010, BAME Labour had 3,363 members,at a time when the entire Labour Party membership stood at less than 200,000. 

Sajid Shaikh

Today, Party membership has exploded to well over half a million, yet active members who are eligible to participate in BAME Labour’s structures and processes has fallen to an appalling 731. Such a devastating critique from Labour members requires, no demands. radical and wholesale change. 

Such political failure and acquiescence in the face of the most intense period of racism, we’ve ever see in the United Kingdom, constitutes appalling leadership, worse administration, and illustrates the huge policy vacuum, that occupies the place, where a civil rights agenda for justice and radical race equality policy should exist.

The organisation is weak, ineffective and moribund, and has no real public profile, and as demonstrated by this survey, fails to have any real connect with black communities. This is incredible at a time when the suffering, the severe excesses of austerity economics and increased racism, has massively amplified discrimination and racial inequality right across the board.

Things are about to change however, with the Labour Party announcing a Democracy Review that will allow a new constitutional arrangements and accountabilities, for liberation groups within the party. 

Vice Chair: June Nelson

After an indeterminate number of local consultations, which we can assume, in any event would be very unrepresentative, given the results of the Momentum survey (would be interested to know how many took place, the total number of attendance by BAME Labour members and the number of submissions made) it is vital that any new constitutional proposals are properly debated, subject two amendments and enjoy the widest possible support of BAME Labour members. 

Whatever the results concluded by the existing review panel established to sift and evaluate responses to the consultation, it is abundantly clear that these proposals do not enjoy a credible mandate of labour's black membership. 

What is absolutely clear however, is that such proposals have no legitimacy nor mandate. It is to be remembered, that as the Momentum survey demonstrated, the majority of Black Labour members have not even heard of BAME Labour. 

Nonetheless the current leadership of BAME Labour now wishes to summarise, what I suspect to be incredibly small number of submissions made to the Labour Party’s Internal Democracy Review in an effort to retain its control over our liberation struggle. 

A small BAME Labour review panel (be interesting to know who is on the panel) was established to look at the submissions and thepanel will be conducting a follow up national consultation meeting to be chaired byDiane Abbott, MP

  

This is an incredibly important meeting that will determine the constitutional accountability of our movement for the foreseeable future. 

And there are issues, in addition to embedding constitutional accountability, that BAME Labour should be addressing, in addition to the issues raised above, for there are important discussions to be had for example in regards to;

·     Declining African and Caribbean youth membership.

Sonny Leong

·     Falling numbers of African and Caribbean elected local councillors right across the country.

·     The failure to recognise the massive growth in recorded rates of racial inequality that have been amplified through the lens of severe austerity.

·     Labour councils record on facilitating gentrification in black and ethnic minority areas.

·     Labour Party's policy on immigration and its historic record in government, in ramping up rhetoric and draconian immigration policy. Windrush. 

·     Black and ethnic minority unemployment, and particularly black youth unemployment being the highest of any ethnic group in Europe.

·     Rising poverty alongside rising rates of serious violence plaguing our communities.

·     BAME Labour failure to build a mass movement, the failure to recruit and promote new leadership, the failure to have a coherent policy response capable of meeting the challenge of rising racism in 21st-century Britain.

·     Addressing the on going criminalization of black youth. 

Raj Mandair

These are some of the issues that spring to my mind in need urgent attention, Im sure there will be many other concerns expressed. All will need to be heard if the Labour Party is to become truly inclusive of particularly, young black Britons.

That's why this national consultation is so important. Decisions arising from the event will be presented to the July 2018 Labour Party NEC meeting, and in turn, inform rule changes in this area at the Labour Party’s Annual Conference, Liverpool, 2018.

Neeraj Patil 

However, we are concerned that there must be ability for the conference to express its view and make necessary amendments to suggested motions from the review panel. Given the lack of legitimacy and mandate, conference must be able to make motions and amendments from the floor of the conference.

Momentum Black Caucuswill be meeting shorty to ensure the Leeds conference offers real opportunity for real democratic debate and ensure that BAME members are allowed to make amendments to any recommendations or options the panel choose to make. 

We encourage all black members to attend this important consultation and support MCB in demanding greater accountability from the national executive of BAME Labour. 

Please do share this article and encourage others to come along. I will be in attendance I hope you will join us.

Lee Jasper 

MBC Executive.