On Wednesday September 23, at a special invitation to Asian Voice from the Conservative Campaign Headquarters, I went to meet Rt Hon Mr Robert Halfon, MP for Harlow and the newly appointed Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Party.
A breakfast of croissants and coffee was laid out for us- unusually generous at this time of morning for an official British institution- and Rob made us welcome, while announcing that he could not eat with us since it was a Jewish festival involving fasting.
The event was the first kind of interaction of its kind to be arranged by a Deputy Chair of the Tory party, we were told. Heartening to hear, we were also told that it would be the first of a regular series of meetings with the Asian/ethnic press. We were treated as sensible, grown up journalists at the meet.
What was remarkable was that Robert stayed listening and attentive throughout the meeting, which included robust complaints by a couple of Asian journalists about being ignored by some “representative” MPs and also not being given access to information or spokesmen when required. At the same time, there was high praise from some journalists concerning speedy responses and helpful comment from the Conservative party press office.
Also brought up was the thorny matter of visas and Asians and public appointments. Robert told us all that he would listen and feedback on all matters, and he gave good explanations where he could.
He said, “We give more visas to India than anywhere else in the world 400,000 in 2014. We want students to come here.”
Some very serious questions were raised, including a discussion about the forthcoming Modi visit to London.
Robert said, “I am very excited about the Modi visit.” He told us he asked PwC to explain to him how PM Modi used social media, and noticed that the Indian PM was very good at wishing other leaders a “Happy Birthday.” He also said that “few” understood social media as PM Modi did.
Speaking to Asian Voice exclusively, Robert said, “Over the last five years, the Conservatives delivered jobs, apprenticeships and new opportunities for people from ethnic minority backgrounds. I’m immensely proud of our record, but I’m equally clear that there’s no room for complacency. There’s always more work to be done, and I’m determined to help drive forward the Prime Minister’s 2020 vision so that as our economy recovers, people from ethnic minority backgrounds share as much in Britain’s prosperity as everyone else.”
When asked about his vision for the Asian community's future as a deputy leader, he added, “I’m very proud of our ethnic community in Britain. I think Britain should, in all walks of life; public life, and in business, Britain should represent the country that we are. I think that the best way to make this happen is by two things: One is leading by example. It’s up to celebrities, politicians, journalists, people in public life, people of faith, to push and encourage this. They should show, by the nature of being in high office or in a big position in public life, that actually yes, we are representative.
“The government is looking into this in a big way. We’ve got a target of a 20% increase in every walk of life by 2020, from the police to public service. We’ve already increased enormously by 20% in the last parliament over the last few years.
“Since 2010, the numbers of young people of black and Asian ethnicity attending university has risen by one fifth (Department for Education, GCSE and equivalent attainment by pupil characteristics, 27 March 2014).
“BME employment is up by 20 per cent since 2010 – meaning more people have the security of a job.BME employment has risen from 2.71 million in the first quarter of 2010 to 3.37 million in the latest period – meaning 668,628 more people from BME backgrounds in work.
“A quarter of our start up loans have gone to people from BME backgrounds – giving more people a chance to run their own business. These loans help people start their own business, giving people the money they need to start a business as a loan, as well as advice from an expert mentor. Over 31,000 businesses in total have been supported by the scheme and by 2020 we will deliver an additional 20,000 start up loans to people from BME backgrounds.
“Secondly, I think education is incredibly important in changing attitudes, in promoting diversity and also celebrating. I think we should celebrate our different communities, we should celebrate our different heritages, and be proud of the nation that we are.”
