sirbenjamin
IFP
True fame is reading your name written in graffiti, but without the words 'is a wanker' after it.
Posts: 4,979 
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Post by sirbenjamin on Aug 18, 2021 1:37:34 GMT
A trifling matter in the big scheme of things perhaps, but a situation that might've left the Conservatives open to allegations of racism for a century, in that the 'we had a non-white MP decades ago' argument wouldn't have been a thing.
Would having had BAME candidates been enough? Would someone else have come along in the early 20th century to be the first non-white Tory MP and break the duck, perhaps with a big push from the party machine looking to fix things? When, if ever, would it have become an issue of consequence?
Would the relatively high proportion of high profile/senior 'Asian' Tories we see today never have been a thing?
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The Bishop
Labour
Down With Factionalism!
Posts: 36,474
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Post by The Bishop on Aug 18, 2021 12:46:43 GMT
Back in 1987, some were careful to qualify the "first ever black MPs elected" thing with "since universal suffrage" which makes sense if you think that didn't operate until the 1929 GE - when the last non-white MP for what would be 58 years, Shapurji Saklatvala, lost his seat.
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Post by johnloony on Aug 20, 2021 11:15:23 GMT
It wouldn’t have made any significant difference. Only geeks & anoraks know / knew that there was a BME Conservative MP in 1895 or before 1987.
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