The choice of Rishi Sunak, a Hindu son of immigrants of Indian origin, to be the next prime minister of the United Kingdom epitomizes the profound changes that have taken place in British politics and society in recent decades.
Increasingly multicultural, the country will for the first time have people of color and non-Christians occupying two of the most important and visible positions in local politics.
In addition to Sunak, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is also the son of immigrants – in this case, from Pakistan.
Politics is one of the last sectors of British society to open its highest echelons to non-whites.
The first deputies representing racial minorities were not elected until 1987. In contrast, blacks, Asians, Pakistanis and Indians began to excel in finance, music, football, science, the arts and the media before that.
According to the Department of National Statistics, 14.4% of the population are ethnic minorities – a significant increase since the 1990s when immigration to the country increased.
But the success of minorities does not mean that racial conflicts have diminished on the island. Quite the opposite.
The number of racial abuse cases reported by British police increased by 26% in the fiscal year ending March 2022 compared to the previous 12 months. This is a historic record, with more than 155,000 cases registered.
The royal family has even been involved in controversies and allegations of racism against Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry. The couple, as you know, were so pressured that they ended up giving up on being part of the family and moving to the United States.
Sunak and Khan have also publicly reported that they have been victims of racist abuse.
Khan, a practicing Muslim, even gave interviews denouncing the strongly abusive messages against him when he was already mayor.
In some cases, he even received death threats and was called a “Muslim terrorist”. Sunak, coming from a more privileged background, recently recalled at least one instance in which he was insulted on the street because of the color of his skin.
In common, the two defend more policies for the integration of minorities. Ironically, however, Sunak voted for Brexit and used immigration as one of his motivations.
He said he is in favor of controlled immigration, opening borders preferentially to a smaller number of more qualified professionals than at the time of the country’s association with the European Union. This is a classic position of much of the Conservative Party.
Source: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
