A RECORD number of ethnic minority MPs are expected to be elected on July 4 and the parliament will be closer to representing the diversity of the electorate, race and diversity thinktank British Future said on Monday (10).
The thinktank’s analysis of final candidate selections projects that there will be a record increase of 20-30 ethnic minority MPs in the Commons.
With around 14 per cent of MPs coming from an ethnic minority background, the new Parliament will be closer to reflecting the diversity of the electorate, it added.
Analysis of census data by Matt Singh of Number Cruncher Politics estimates that 14 per cent of the UK electorate are from ethnic minorities.
Labour party leads the table with one in five MPs or 125 candidates (19.9 per cent) from an ethnic minority background.
This is followed by the Conservative party with 86 ethnic minority candidates (13.7 per cent), while Lib Dems have selected 66 (10.5 per cent).
The SNP has picked three candidates from ethnic minority communities out of a total of 57 (5.2 per cent), while Green Party and Refrom have chosen 8.9 per cent and 5.2 per cent respectively of its total candidates from ethnic minorities.
Plaid Cymru in Wales and the UUP in Northern Ireland have each selected one candidate from an ethnic minority background.
The Labour Party is set to have the largest number of ethnic minority MPs – projected to be 66 if the party wins an overall majority and up to 83 in the landslide scenario.
If Labour wins an overall majority of one, around 20 per cent of its new MPs will be from an ethnic minority background. British Future’s analysis projects around 20 ethnic minority Conservative MPs Read More….