Recent Articles

Black people are being left behind further in this stagnant economy

David Cameron will no doubt be tempted in to breathing a sigh of relief at the latest unemployment figures.

Unemployment is at 2.53m, high but falling marginally, and the coalition have taken this to mean the economic picture is improving and there is now hope for young people.

If you’re young and black however no such picture can even begin to be painted. 50% of young black men are unemployed and a recent TUC report in to youth unemployment shows that since that since this Tory-led government came in to power unemployment amongst young black men has risen faster than for any other group.

The next biggest rise has been for young black women. Earlier in the year I wrote of how being black in the job market means being the last to be hired and the first to be fired. This report shows the facts behind this reality.

Differences in employment by ethnicity are widening and as a country we are running out of excuses. More black people are going to university and, slowly, more are going to good universities.

I recently held an award ceremony celebrating the academic achievement of black youngsters, youngsters who have achieved fantastic grades. This is not about a lack of talent but a lack of opportunity.

The reality in communities in Hackney and cities such as London is that the public sector is a traditional employer, employing good people who would otherwise struggle to find a job with small and medium enterprises who are looking for the ‘right fit’.

With the cuts to public sector that are taking place those opportunities for young people are thinner on the ground. In the private sector it has always been more about who you know and having strong social networks. This often means an extended period as an unpaid intern, something which is not feasible for many. This means that in a city that is thriving not everyone can be given an opportunity, some are merely forced to look on as opportunity springs up around them.

The rise in unemployment for black women is very worrying. Black women, Caribbean women especially, are often recognised as being a success story, well integrated and with relatively high levels of employment especially when compared to their male equivalents.

Traditionally black Caribbean women have thrived in the public sector, thanks in part to transparent recruitment processes. Initially many, including my own mother, found work in the NHS as nurses. More recently many have found work in administrative roles.

There is an underlying narrative here of a failed generation, of young people never being given that first opportunity in the jobs market and of young black people being written off as unemployable.

Long-term youth unemployment is on the rise. In my constituency the number of 16-24 year-olds on Jobseekers Allowance for more than a year is up by 50% in 12 months. In some places the rise has been even more dramatic. Harlow has seen an increase of 2400% in long term JSA claimants.These are the people with scars on their backs in the hunt for a job.

These are young people sending hundreds of CV’s with not so much as an acknowledgement. It will be difficult to get them back in to the jobs market after having been out for so long. At the moment it seems if you are young and black in this country Cameron’s legacy looks to be about leaving you without hope and without opportunities either.

Why is the government keen not to upset the drinks lobby?

It is stating the obvious to say that this cabinet of millionaires is too close to banks and big business. But in terms of alcohol policy, this closeness is costing lives. We have known for a long time now that alcohol, when used to excess, can have a devastating impact on people’s lives.

It kills 6,500 a year (that’s 3 times more than die on our roads), costs the NHS £3.5bn a year (3% of the NHS budget) and the social impacts are numerous.

You would think then that the priority for Andrew Lansley and the Department of Health would be saving lives and cutting cost to the NHS.
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It’s time for a New Deal on mental health issues

Last week Parliament held a very emotive debate on mental health where MPs in both political parties came out and spoke about their own mental health issues. This week, a report from the Mental Health Policy Group revealed the shocking lack of availability of treatment.

And the government has now made it clear that it plans to repeal the archaic legislation that says Members of Parliament detained on grounds of mental illness may have to vacate their seat.

Mental health, so long the “cinderella service”, is, at last, moving up the political agenda.
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The tragedy behind the Sam Hallam case

After the big miscarriage of justice cases like the Birmingham Six, Britain might be forgiven for thinking that the criminal justice system had learnt from past mistakes and previous sloppy police investigations.

But this week a young man called Sam Hallam had his murder conviction quashed by judges. This was only after spending seven years in jail for a killing he did not commit

Sam is a Hackney boy. And his release owes everything to the tireless campaigning of his friends and family. But I played a small role three years ago.
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The growing cloud over British women’s right to choose

Recent weeks have confirmed many of my worst fears about the direction of travel for the abortion debate.

We’re beginning to see David Cameron’s government co-operate with the most politically charged and vitriolic attack on British women’s right to choose in recent times: a witch-hunt against the abortion services provided by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Marie Stopes and the NHS.

The allegations about breaches of the law by abortion clinics, which have repeatedly appeared in the Daily Telegraph, are very serious. Where there is bad practice, the government has a responsibility to vulnerable woman to take action. However, I have real concerns about the way this investigation has happened.
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On abortion, conservatives may be beaten but they’re re-grouping

The campaign against Nadine Dorries’ anti-choice campaign this year was an inspiration. Liberal Conspiracy, the F-word, LabourList and a range of sexual health groups mobilised alongside party activists and ordinary members of the public to ensure that, in the end, it was British commonsense and fairness that won the day.

David Cameron and much of his cabinet may have supported the anti-choice campaign behind closed doors, but it was decisively rejected by parliament, by the medical profession and also by the British public.

So it is very disheartening to hear that a new anti-choice campaign by SPUC (the Society for the Protection of Unborn of Children) has been launched.
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Andrew Lansley and his wife: a conflict of interest?

At the heart of the Tory NHS ‘reforms’ are concern about the encroachment of the private sector. So the fact that Andrew Lansley’s wife has set up shop as “Low Associates” offering “strategic policy advice” is of more than passing interest.

Sally Lansley’s (nee Lowe) company is based in her home, so it must be challenging to keep her role as Andrew Lansley’s wife and her role as a strategic policy advisor separate.
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Claudia Aderotimi was the victim of something more universal than ‘hip-hop culture’

British student Claudia Aderotimi died in America last week, the result of botched plastic surgery intended to give her a bigger bottom

Some commentators say that Claudia was a victim of “hip hop” culture. She was actually a victim of something much more universal.
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