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A British Obama? Not while the 'Yes Massa' instinct is still the order of the day for the Tories
By Derek Laud
Last updated at 10:02 PM on 08th November 2008
Derek Laud: 'The odds of Britain producing a black head of government are roughly on a par with John Prescott winning the Nobel Prize for physics'
Barack Obama is not the first black President of the USA. As the veteran black activist, the Rev Jesse Jackson, once helpfully pointed out: 'He isn't black enough.'
We all know his mother was white and, with an apostrophe in the right place, the surname Obama suggests his Kenyan father's ancestors might actually have been Irish.
My own heritage is more straightforward, although my Jamaican parents never thought my politics were. Nevertheless, Obama's election does emphatically break the racial political mould.
If it can happen in America, with all its historical baggage of slavery and segregation, could something similar happen in Britain? And, if so, where are the British Obamas? The hunt is surely now on.
While getting my hair cut a few days ago, I discussed this with my Jamaican barber (who, incidentally, I share with the Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton).
My barber doesn't think he will see a black party leader in his lifetime.
We have had maverick backbenchers such as Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott, who were among the first black MPs when elected in 1987. Even then, they had to fight hard for their right to stand and were adopted by a 'positive' discrimination process within the Labour Party, called Black Sections.
By contrast, Obama was chosen as Democratic nominee without any of these artificial aids. He won strictly on merit and against extremely tough competition.
The lesson is that, if merit were the main criterion, the Conservative Party might have more talented candidates.
It was Tony Blair who appointed our first black Cabinet Minister, Paul Boateng, in 2002.
But where is Boateng now? He was swiftly shunted abroad and out of politics altogether as British High Commissioner to South Africa, an appointment that combines racial stereotyping and political tokenism to a cynical degree.
There have been two other blacks in the Cabinet since - Baroness Amos and now the highly respected and vastly capable Attorney General, Lady Scotland.
Labour would argue that it has done more than any other party to recruit and promote ethnic minorities in its ranks.
The Liberal Democrat Party - strangely for a party with its name - has yet to make any progress in this area.
And what of the Tories? Where are their potential Obamas?
Inspiration: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama
Twenty-five years ago, when I worked for Tory MPs at the House of Commons, I was virtually the only black in the Westminster village. It was sometimes a lonely place.
I was constantly looked at as an object of curiosity and, with me being so obviously different, many white Tories felt rather awkward in my presence.
The not so subliminal message was that I wasn't 'the right sort' for membership of the Conservative Party.
More surprisingly, this feeling has recurred under 'Dave's' supposedly all-inclusive regime. The problem is that I do not conform to type, but nor does Obama. He knows, and I do too, that racism relies on stereotyping.
The Conservatives have difficulty believing that black people can be clever, independently minded, middle-class and patriotic.
Not long ago, while I was handing over another large cheque to the party on behalf of a wealthy donor, a member of its high command opined that 'blacks were an electoral liability - that is why John Taylor wasn't elected in Cheltenham'.
But times have changed - or so David Cameron says. Has he not deliberately skewed the parliamentary candidate selection process to diversify the party? Perhaps, but it is not working.
If anything it has become a device to ensure that only the 'chosen ones' among us blacks are more likely to get selected. And even in that, it has to be said, the results are not impressive.
So I doubt that we will soon emulate the Americans and produce a black head of government. In fact, I put the odds roughly on a par with John Prescott winning the Nobel Prize for physics.
John Taylor's race was thought a liability by some senior Tories while Labour quickly shunted Paul Boateng, right, abroad
Last year, I was asked to put my hat into the ring for the Tory nomination for London Mayor. I considered it seriously but told the then party chairman that I was more interested in national issues.
After investigation I also reluctantly concluded that, despite the spin about wanting to boost ethnic minority candidates, my participation was sought just to make the contest look 'inclusive' with no real desire for me to win the nomination.
The problem appeared to be one of concern about independent-mindedness. Or that I would make unwelcome comments despite all the evidence of my extended loyalty to the party both nationally and locally. Unrequited loyalty.
Obama has said that he was not supposed to win, that he wasn't backed by the 'establishment'. Well, the 'establishment' here didn't expect him to win either.
They had bought into the view that a black man couldn't be elected, which might be why the Government wanted Hillary Clinton and the Conservatives stuck by the underwhelming McCain.
The truth is that in the modern Conservative Party blacks are acceptable only if they are malleable. The 'Yes Massa' instinct is still the order of the day.
And while modernism is fashionable in a few central offices, liberal isn't a word much heard in many Tory constituency meetings.
Without the benefit of positive discrimination, I became the first black Master of Foxhounds.
Freed from the shackles of negative discrimination by the marvel that is Channel 4, more people voted for me to remain in the Big Brother house than voted in successive parliamentary elections for the entire Shadow Cabinet.
I have come to feel that the Conservative Party is interested in me only if I am writing out a cheque or encouraging others to do the same. Write cheques, keep quiet and keep out.
Labour has elevated Baroness Amos and, right, the Attorney General, Lady Scotland
Obama has inspired me to do more, not less.
He is only two years older than me, but hugely more capable. He deserves his win and he deserves worldwide admiration for being prepared to stand out among the crowd.
We have a long way to go to match the American Dream. I look across the Pond and dream about relocation.
Where is our land of ideals? Where is our home for vaulting ambition? Where are those who can freely speak to ordinary people about the highest values of hope, change, aspiration and participation, and be not laughed at but lauded?
God bless America, where history will be made again in a truly kaleidoscopic nation. But don't hold your breath for the same to happen here.
By Derek Laud
Last updated at 10:02 PM on 08th November 2008
Derek Laud: 'The odds of Britain producing a black head of government are roughly on a par with John Prescott winning the Nobel Prize for physics'Barack Obama is not the first black President of the USA. As the veteran black activist, the Rev Jesse Jackson, once helpfully pointed out: 'He isn't black enough.'
We all know his mother was white and, with an apostrophe in the right place, the surname Obama suggests his Kenyan father's ancestors might actually have been Irish.
My own heritage is more straightforward, although my Jamaican parents never thought my politics were. Nevertheless, Obama's election does emphatically break the racial political mould.
If it can happen in America, with all its historical baggage of slavery and segregation, could something similar happen in Britain? And, if so, where are the British Obamas? The hunt is surely now on.
While getting my hair cut a few days ago, I discussed this with my Jamaican barber (who, incidentally, I share with the Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton).
My barber doesn't think he will see a black party leader in his lifetime.
We have had maverick backbenchers such as Bernie Grant and Diane Abbott, who were among the first black MPs when elected in 1987. Even then, they had to fight hard for their right to stand and were adopted by a 'positive' discrimination process within the Labour Party, called Black Sections.
By contrast, Obama was chosen as Democratic nominee without any of these artificial aids. He won strictly on merit and against extremely tough competition.
The lesson is that, if merit were the main criterion, the Conservative Party might have more talented candidates.
It was Tony Blair who appointed our first black Cabinet Minister, Paul Boateng, in 2002.
But where is Boateng now? He was swiftly shunted abroad and out of politics altogether as British High Commissioner to South Africa, an appointment that combines racial stereotyping and political tokenism to a cynical degree.
There have been two other blacks in the Cabinet since - Baroness Amos and now the highly respected and vastly capable Attorney General, Lady Scotland.
Labour would argue that it has done more than any other party to recruit and promote ethnic minorities in its ranks.
The Liberal Democrat Party - strangely for a party with its name - has yet to make any progress in this area.
And what of the Tories? Where are their potential Obamas?
Inspiration: U.S. President-elect Barack ObamaTwenty-five years ago, when I worked for Tory MPs at the House of Commons, I was virtually the only black in the Westminster village. It was sometimes a lonely place.
I was constantly looked at as an object of curiosity and, with me being so obviously different, many white Tories felt rather awkward in my presence.
The not so subliminal message was that I wasn't 'the right sort' for membership of the Conservative Party.
More surprisingly, this feeling has recurred under 'Dave's' supposedly all-inclusive regime. The problem is that I do not conform to type, but nor does Obama. He knows, and I do too, that racism relies on stereotyping.
The Conservatives have difficulty believing that black people can be clever, independently minded, middle-class and patriotic.
Not long ago, while I was handing over another large cheque to the party on behalf of a wealthy donor, a member of its high command opined that 'blacks were an electoral liability - that is why John Taylor wasn't elected in Cheltenham'.
But times have changed - or so David Cameron says. Has he not deliberately skewed the parliamentary candidate selection process to diversify the party? Perhaps, but it is not working.
If anything it has become a device to ensure that only the 'chosen ones' among us blacks are more likely to get selected. And even in that, it has to be said, the results are not impressive.
So I doubt that we will soon emulate the Americans and produce a black head of government. In fact, I put the odds roughly on a par with John Prescott winning the Nobel Prize for physics.
John Taylor's race was thought a liability by some senior Tories while Labour quickly shunted Paul Boateng, right, abroad
Last year, I was asked to put my hat into the ring for the Tory nomination for London Mayor. I considered it seriously but told the then party chairman that I was more interested in national issues.
After investigation I also reluctantly concluded that, despite the spin about wanting to boost ethnic minority candidates, my participation was sought just to make the contest look 'inclusive' with no real desire for me to win the nomination.
The problem appeared to be one of concern about independent-mindedness. Or that I would make unwelcome comments despite all the evidence of my extended loyalty to the party both nationally and locally. Unrequited loyalty.
Obama has said that he was not supposed to win, that he wasn't backed by the 'establishment'. Well, the 'establishment' here didn't expect him to win either.
They had bought into the view that a black man couldn't be elected, which might be why the Government wanted Hillary Clinton and the Conservatives stuck by the underwhelming McCain.
The truth is that in the modern Conservative Party blacks are acceptable only if they are malleable. The 'Yes Massa' instinct is still the order of the day.
And while modernism is fashionable in a few central offices, liberal isn't a word much heard in many Tory constituency meetings.
Without the benefit of positive discrimination, I became the first black Master of Foxhounds.
Freed from the shackles of negative discrimination by the marvel that is Channel 4, more people voted for me to remain in the Big Brother house than voted in successive parliamentary elections for the entire Shadow Cabinet.
I have come to feel that the Conservative Party is interested in me only if I am writing out a cheque or encouraging others to do the same. Write cheques, keep quiet and keep out.
Labour has elevated Baroness Amos and, right, the Attorney General, Lady Scotland
Obama has inspired me to do more, not less.
He is only two years older than me, but hugely more capable. He deserves his win and he deserves worldwide admiration for being prepared to stand out among the crowd.
We have a long way to go to match the American Dream. I look across the Pond and dream about relocation.
Where is our land of ideals? Where is our home for vaulting ambition? Where are those who can freely speak to ordinary people about the highest values of hope, change, aspiration and participation, and be not laughed at but lauded?
God bless America, where history will be made again in a truly kaleidoscopic nation. But don't hold your breath for the same to happen here.