Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, stated this week that The House of Lords is more ethnically diverse than the Commons. This is another factor that demonstrates the increasing importance of the Lords in British politics.
He asserted that Parliament was “at the pumping heart of our democracy”, but that the Commons has fallen behind the times where, among those under 35, people are more comfortable with racial diversity than any generation in living memory.
The Lords is far removed from its remote, unrepresentative stereotype. Its growing profile in British politics – especially in areas of great concern like revoking the 42 day Terror Detention plans – shows that it is often more in touch with the British people than the Commons.
Phillips’s research showed that, if you are not white, Britain is by far the best place to live in Europe when it comes to the attitude of the majority to the minority. Polling data showed that the proportion of white people who say they would mind if a close relative married a black or Asian person has fallen from 33% to 12% in five years.
It is time that the Commons translated this data into reality. It should be representing Britain’s ethnic diversity instead of being, in Phillips’s words, “too white, too straight and male”.
For comments click here
Comments