Steve with some of the new black Labour councillors elected in May 2006 - the result of an initiative Steve launched three years earlier

When I was elected Leader of the Opposition in September 2002, there were only four  Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic councillors in Lambeth – out of a total of 63 councillors.  Three of those four were Labour.  That level of under-representation is a disgrace in a borough where 38% of the population is black.  As the newly elected Leader of our Labour councillors, I set myself the goal of increasing diverse representation on the Council.   

I championed a project in the local Labour Party aimed at increasing minority ethnic representation.  We asked Cllr Jackie Meldrum and local Party member Betty Evans-Jacas to lead the programme.  Working together, we ran a workshop attended by over 40 black Labour Party members and supporters where we listened to people’s views on how we could encourage more black people to get involved.  The participants challenged us to change the way we engaged with people, and they asked us to run a programme to develop black people’s understanding of how to be selected as candidates, as well as providing training and mentoring.  Over the following three years, over 60 black Party members got involved.  We had outstanding support from senior political figures including Baroness Valerie Amos, the first black Leader of the House of Lords. 

The project was a success.  In the run-up to the 2006 elections, Labour selected strong and experienced black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates in many of our safer seats.  Labour won back control of Lambeth by a landslide, and one of the best outcomes of that amazing result was the fact that we increased the number of black Labour councillors from three to twelve in one go.  The biggest increase in diverse representation anywhere in the country.  The Lib Dems failed to increase their number of black councillors at all, and there is still not a single non-white Conservative councillor in Lambeth. 

Here's what 'The Voice' newspaper had to say: 

"Steve Reed, the leader and, Jackie Meldrum, the deputy leader of Lambeth Labour group, instigated an initiative… to help ethnic minority members progress through the ranks of the party and into elected office. We had to look at the barriers that existed for ethnic minority members, break them down and make the party more accessible. As a result of the programme a large number of ethnic minority members were selected to fight winnable seats and we now have a council chamber that better reflects the local population."

You can read the full article by clicking here.