Ethnic Minority Representation and Party Competition in Britain: The Case of Ealing Borough

Abstract

This article critically assesses claims that the Conservative and Labour Parties' neglect of Britain's non-white population is due to its relatively small size and/or its geographical concentration in ‘safe’, predominantly white, Labour constituencies. Rather, it is demonstrated that in the London Borough of Ealing, where non-whites comprise a quarter of the population and neither major party enjoys political predominance, a number of intra-party constraints (e.g. ideology) combine with electoral disincentives (e.g. addressing non-white demands could alienate whites in the handful of electorally marginal wards which decide the parliamentary balance) to impel both parties to neglect non-white interests.