March 2025: Who runs the political world? 💜
Happy Monday,
A lot has happened in the world since we last popped up in your inbox.
But, before we jump into all that, here’s a warm welcome to all the new folks from across the world of politics, policymaking, public administration and public affairs who have joined our mailing list in the meantime.
Plus, a special invitation to join our first-ever Black Politicos community catch-up call here.
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IDENTITY POLITICS: In pure identity politics news (as if every political alignment known to humankind isn’t based on some sort of identity), the Conservatives elected Kemi Badenoch as their fourth (!) woman leader back in November, making her the first Black politician to ascend to the top of a Westminster party. Props.
Colour Blind: But, she did tell the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that what she doesn’t want is “for that to be the thing that ends up being talked about” and would prefer people focus on political issues rather than her race. So, readers: take note. Plus, we kinda agree, so perhaps this might be a good time for us to share the Black Politicos vision: A future with better life outcomes for Black people from all socio-economic backgrounds.
Speaking of personal economy, our thoughts are with the additional 19 CCHQ staffers that The Times is reporting she’s about to fire.
Declaration of Independence: Three days after the former international trade secretary was elected leader of His Majesty’s Most Loyal Opposition, the American people did not elect a Black woman leader of their own. They chose Badenoch’s ideological bedfellows instead, with Republican candidates winning races up and down the ballot in states across the union. Cue: the reconstruction of the global world order as we’ve come to know it. We’re screwed…or about damn time?
Are you not embarrassed? On the left, hat tip to The Guardian whose reporting publicly confirmed that there wasn’t (isn’t?) a single senior Black political staffer or adviser in or anywhere close to the prime minister’s team in No.10 – or in any ministerial department across Whitehall for that matter. One senior Labour frontbencher in the government of Sir Keir Starmer was reported to have said that it was a “serious embarrassment and a blind spot” after the Tories elected a Black leader. Yikes.
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A WIN IS A WIN: But we’re always eager to see the positives, so we’re keen to celebrate wins where we get them. As such, we shan’t be quick to forget that the Labour Party has given the nation our first woman chancellor. So on that note, Happy Women’s History Month.
Who run the world? The House Magazine published its list of the 100 most influential Women in Westminster last week. Political journalism doyen, head of politics for ITV Good Morning Britain and friend of Black Politicos Anne Alexander sits on on the board of patrons. Hey Anne!
Our congratulations to … former Black Maternal Health APPG Chair Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP … housing, communities and local government committee chair Florence Eshalomi MP … leader of the opposition Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP … and mother of the house Rt Hon Diane Abbott MP.
Other women in Westminster: Also timely - the results from the Women in Public Affairs annual survey.
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SURVEY SAYS: Speaking of annual surveys, we shared our thoughts with the all-seeing and all-hearing John Johnston of POLITICO London Influence back in September on the unfortunate but unsurprising findings from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations’ annual survey about the career development challenges experienced by Black talent.
See it. Say it. Sorted. We recommended the first step that any serious senior industry leader should take to begin tackling this perennial problem. Full write up here.
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IN THE LIONS’ DEN: Speaking of qualified Black talent in our sector, we welcomed former local government official Daniel Noruwa to the Black Politicos founding team, to scale our social impact, after a stint as an external policy and public affairs consultant.
The Book of Daniel: A strong advocate for public services and an experienced adviser to councillors and MPs, he previously helped deliver over £10 million in economic regeneration in Central London and supported an NHS reform programme. Was that NHS England by any chance, Daniel?
Please join in welcoming him to Black Politicos mission control here.
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BLACK POWER: Brent East MP Dawn Butler launched a new UK Parliamentary Black Caucus, inspired in part by the iconic US Congressional Black Caucus. Setting out the group’s vision in Labour List, the former parliamentary secretary to the Cabinet Office said: “The cross-party Black Caucus will work together to promote a fairer, more equal society, where Black communities are heard, respected and fairly represented – so that all our diverse communities can have a better understanding of fairness in society.”
Throwback: to the old Parliamentary Black Caucus established by the great former Tottenham MP Bernie Grant in the late ‘80s. Paying tribute, Butler put on record the new group’s “appreciation and admiration for those who came before us, the first Black Caucus – we stand on the shoulders of giants. Now, we must continue progress towards equality and equity.”
In more Black parliamentarian news: The secretary of state for business and trade Jonathan Reynolds appointed a new raft of 32 envoys, with name checks for Labour MPs … Bell Ribeiro-Addy (Ghana) … House of Commons freshman Calvin Bailey (Southern Africa) … Florence Eshalomi (Nigeria) … Kate Osamor (East Africa) … and Paulette Hamilton (Commonwealth Caribbean).
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POLICY SIDEBAR: On the substantive policy front, we’ve had the tabling of Labour’s employment rights bill; the first budget from a Labour chancellor in 14 years; a new industrial strategy (to replace the “long-term” strategy unveiled barely 7 years earlier #UKPolitics); and the majorly newsworthy abolition of NHS England just last week – PLUS, the Tories’ major immigration policy proposal last month.
Forward Look: In two weeks’ time, we’ll be hosting our first-ever Black Politicos community catch-up call to discuss all the political and policy goings-on in Westminster and beyond.
Join us on Monday 31 March at 6pm!