OPERATION BLACK VOTE CHAIR URGES BURNHAM TO ADDRESS RACISM

David Weaver, chair of Operation Black Vote, has said that Andy Burnham has a historic opportunity to shift the national mood on racism upon becoming prime minister. Weaver made the comments in an interview marking the 30th anniversary of the nonpartisan civil rights organisation. Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, was confirmed as the new Labour leader on Friday and will become prime minister on Monday. Weaver stated that Burnham's prospectus addressing class and regional inequalities through devolution, reindustrialisation and technical education could benefit communities regardless of race.

Weaver said that conversations about class inequality and community engagement, whilst often not explicitly about race, would be beneficial to both Black communities and white working-class communities. He cautioned, however, that Burnham could not ignore "the specificity of race" given ethnonationalist rhetoric, ethnic disparities and race riots. Weaver noted that Black and Asian Britons are discussing the prospect of leaving the UK "at levels unseen since the 70s". He urged Burnham to grant legal aid to Windrush scandal survivors, overhaul the compensation scheme by removing it from Home Office control, and expedite payments.

Weaver also called for Burnham to restore the Labour whip to MP Diane Abbott, whose treatment was consistently raised by Black voters in conversations with Operation Black Vote. Weaver stated that pessimism among Black and Asian Britons about their future in the UK is at its lowest level since Enoch Powell's "rivers of blood" speech. He said that current parliamentary rhetoric makes Powell's 1968 speech "look like a nursery rhyme" and observed that Black people are having their British identity questioned.