Racism 'blocking British Obama'

Mr Phillips does not support all-black shortlists

"Institutional racism" in the political system would prevent a British Barack Obama from becoming prime minister, the head of the UK equality watchdog says.

Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, told the Times the problem would not be voters but the political "machine".

Even someone of Mr Obama's talent would struggle, he said, to overcome Labour's "institutional stranglehold on power".

Labour said it had a "proud record of promoting ethnic minority candidates".

The parties... are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business Trevor Phillips Could Britain have a black PM?

Mr Phillips told the Times: "If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold that there is on power within the Labour Party."

He described what he saw as "institutional resistance" to selecting black and Asian candidates.

It was no coincidence that there were only 15 ethnic minority MPs, he said.

"The parties and unions and think tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It's institutional racism," he added.

'Giving an edge'

However, he said he believed the Conservatives had performed better than Labour in increasing the number of black and Asian parliamentary candidates.

"[The Conservatives] are less democratic. They are happier to impose candidates on the local parties."

Mr Phillips went on to say that he opposed all-black shortlists for parliamentary candidates because it would be difficult to define "black" or to decide where they should be imposed, but he said action was needed by all parties.

"Any positive action has to be based on giving people who are already competent a bit of an edge," he said.

Last month Mr Phillips warned more help was needed for areas where there was a "white underclass" which had been "neglected" by existing equalities policies.

And in 2004 he argued multiculturalism belonged to a different era and that all citizens should "assert a core of Britishness".

Responding to Mr Phillips' claims, Labour said it continually reviewed its procedures to ensure its elected positions reflected British society.

A spokesman added: "This is the party that produced, among others, the first black woman MP, the first black minister, the first black woman minister, the first black Cabinet minister, the first black woman Cabinet minister and the first black woman mayor."

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