Comments on: The Black Vote in Birmingham in 2015 https://thechamberlainfiles.com/the-black-vote-in-birmingham-in-2015/ Politics, LEPs and economic development in the West Midlands Sat, 29 Nov 2014 01:47:56 +0000 hourly 1 By: bapanvel https://thechamberlainfiles.com/the-black-vote-in-birmingham-in-2015/#comment-5821 Thu, 15 Aug 2013 10:19:56 +0000 https://thechamberlainfiles.com/?p=10543#comment-5821 Strange that those who depend most on the outcomes of government policy don’t register to vote. I did once suggest to one political party’s canvassers that they set up a tea & conversation stall outside the tower blocks to encourage registration and also give their party’s message, but they preferred to carry on as usual, despite getting poor results.

]]> By: Gerry https://thechamberlainfiles.com/the-black-vote-in-birmingham-in-2015/#comment-5820 Thu, 15 Aug 2013 10:07:24 +0000 https://thechamberlainfiles.com/?p=10543#comment-5820 Take Hodge Hill constituency as an example and look at the BME vote in three of the constituncy’s four wards, Washwood Heath, Bordesley Green and Hodge Hill, the Asian voters turn out in force to vote and produce good majority votes for Labour. Look at the fourth ward of Shard End predominantly white working class very low turnout.

To get the black vote out you also need to have a credible black or BME candidate. Birmingham has two Asian MPs, Perry Barr Khalid Mahmood and Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood but no Black MP odd for a city with such diversity, the council has adequate Asian representation but a very low Black proportion of councillors.

In Birmingham the answer to getting a bigger BME vote out is for all political parties to put up Black or BME parliamentary candidates in Hall Green and Hodge Hill.

Parties might get a higher BME vote if they can identify the issues that BME communities cleave towards but then voters might just be voters regardless of colour and ethnicity.

I would ask how many members of operation black vote are looking for a political career or to encourage the BME vote to vote for one specific party.

We have nearly 1 million Poles in the UK and a growing Romanian and Bulgarian community how many of them vote?

Follow the Australian example make voting compulsory and that ends the need for Operation Black Vote.

]]>