Making friends with minorities

The UK prime minister is making a subtle shift in his Conservative party’s strategy on immigration by chasing the immigrant vote, albeit indirectly. The Independent, a major newspaper in the UK reports David Cameron recently called for an increase in minority (Asian and Black) parliamentary candidates in his party because of the party’s growing unpopularity among  UK’s minorities, a very reasonable political reaction to recent events considering the direction he was heading not too long ago. Having watched the republican party across the pond (the conservatives in the US) lose a presidential election because of the changing demographics of American voters amongst other reasons, David Cameron will be wise to embrace minorities in the UK before it becomes too late.

The democratic party in the US did a fine job wooing minorities who shaped the outcome of the election and will eventually become the majority-minority, an interesting description as the US tends towards a white minority nation.

The new US minority will be whiter, older and angrier.

The conservative party’s aggressive drive to cut net migration to the tens of thousands, a good decision for the UK has not gone down well with minorities from non-EU countries including skilled migrants, while those from the EU remain unaffected and this has created the perception that the party is anti-minority. The 2011 census results has brought some urgency to the need for any one needing votes to be minority friendly by revealing a similar demographic trend in some UK cities similar to the US situation. Political parties can boost their electoral fortunes by recognizing the growing influence of minorities and supporting them especially in nations that encourage or have encouraged immigration of some kind in the past and now have large populations of voting minorities.

The UK’s immigration policy is not about to change anytime soon, but as the influence of immigrants and minorities on election day becomes more and more significant, it is important for this segment of society to extend their influence to the shaping and determination of immigration policy.