As individuals , we have the power to change our lives and as part of society, we have the power to change our world.
All over the UK, people have been casting their votes today. I wonder how may people used their ballot cards? And if they didn’t, why? As for who people voted for, we will find out in later and know for sure, who will be leading the country for the next four years. However, since I discovered that the Black British community does not use its vote, despite having an influential vote, I have wondered if things would be different within the ethnic minority communities of Britain, if people got off their backside and made their voices heard by casting their votes. I know politicians sell us a great pitch, though they never deliver on everything. Personally, I still call them liars and great sales men who may well be the lousiest lover on earth. But, there is a but and that ‘but’ is in your ability to think as to who will come close to making good on their word and giving them a chance.
You cannot change what you complain about when you have taken no actions to rectify the things you do not like. You cannot make demands on a system that you do not participate in at at the electoral level.
At the end of today, we may well end up with 43 Black MPs or the 15 from the last few years. We cannot cry if they all didn’t make it, when we sat back and did not use our vote. In the same vain, you cannot cry if you did not cast your vote for anyone at all, be they white or black. You vote for what you believe in, not what looks right because your skin colour is the same.
Ashok Viswanathan is the deputy co-ordiantor of Operation Black Vote and in a recent interview with him, he said, “The democratic deficit before OBV started in 1996 was along these lines. They were around 659 MPs and in 1996, I would say that 0.7 per cent of the make-up of that parliament where our MPs sit and pass laws, 0.7 per cent of that parliament was black. That figure has risen to 2.1 per cent. When you put that into real numbers, the 0.7 per cent, in 1996 accounted for four Mps. The 2.1 per cent now account for 15 MPs. After the next election, our predictions are that there will be around 25 to 30, we will see that figure rising to about 4.5 to 5 per cent but it is still far, far too low. Projections for 2011, is that we will have a black and ethnic minority here in the UK between 10 and 12 per cent. So, there has been progress, but the progress has been too slow and unsatisfactory and if we were to wait for those to levels to stabilise in reflecting communities without any initiatives, then our date and analysis, we will be waiting another 100 years if it took 15 years to go from four black Mps to 15, we have predicted that it will take 100 years to reach something adequate that reflects modern day Britain in terms of ethnicity, age and gender and for us a grave concern. Our analysis also shows there is a decline in political participation and the lack of black representation and diversity.”
I shall say no more except, if the party you wanted to win today does not win and if the MP you would have preferred as your local MP did not make it, ask yourself why you did not use your vote. If you did, then the decision was bigger than you but at least you used your power. Finito!
