Do Lib Dems Value BAME Support ?

The Liberal Democrat Party has traditionally been viewed (and has viewed itself) as the party which stands up for human rights, civil liberties, personal freedoms, equal opportunities, fairness and diversity. As such, the party could and should be the natural home for those individuals and communities who may have suffered discrimination in some form or another. That is a large section of Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BaME) population Yet the reality is somewhat different.
Whilst membership of Liberal Democrats Party has seen a steady and impressive rise the number joining from BAME groups has stayed stubbornly low The Party leadership knows only too well that it needs the support of this constituency if it is to succeed in its electoral fight back.
That is one of the reasons the Party President Baroness Sal Brinton invited a senior respected figure in the guise of Lord John Alderdice to undertake a review into the relationship between Liberal Democrats and Ethnic Minorities. This he has duly done. His findings and report on “Race, Ethnic Minorities and the Culture of Liberal Democrats ” will not make easy reading for many within the Party because he pulls no punches.
The report acknowledges that the Party has always known that if it is to live up to its Liberal values it has to do more than pay lip service to equality and diversity because perception is all
And to be fair it has made attempts to address the problem in the past.
In 2001 Lord Dholakia set up the Racial Equality Advisory Group which produced the report entitled “Diversity, Racial Equality and the Party” published in 2004. This report was launched and accepted by the Federal Executive and led to the establishment of the Ethnic Minority Election Task Force (EMETF). In March 2006 at the Harrogate Spring Conference the Party approved a further motion from Lord Dholakia on the issue and Party President Simon Hughes MP launched the Party’s ‘Equality and Diversity Review’. At its Federal Conference that year Sir Menzies Campbell MP announced the launch of the ‘Diversity Fund’ with £200,000 to fight target seats where women and ethnic minority candidates were chosen.
Unfortunately very little if any of this money was used to assist a BAME candidate because no BAME candidate had been selected to contest any of the Party’s key target seats And few of the recommendations form all those previous works were ever implemented.
Little wonder then that Lord Alderdice should find that the Party is viewed with dismay and suspicion by both its BAME members and supporters.