Kent politicians advocate for increased opportunities for diverse councillors beyond Black History Month

KentOnline / KMTV

In Kent County Council's cabinet, elected councillors from BAME ethnicities represent fewer than 5% of the council. In Medway, they represent fewer than 20%.

Transcript

00:00 I'm not black just in October. I'm black every day. So black history month is not something

00:13 that is just meant to be in October. These issues that we're raising should not just

00:17 be raised in October. It should be raised every single day and every single time when

00:22 it comes up.

00:23 Lola Oyewesi started as a parish councillor in Aylesford five years ago. At the time,

00:29 she was the only black councillor on the board. Lola says more encouragement is needed in

00:35 welcoming those from different ethnic backgrounds, genders, ages and abilities to become candidates

00:41 in local government.

00:43 I have realised they don't like a woman, especially a black woman, who is outspoken, who just

00:49 says it as it is. And I feel they see me as a challenge. They need to reach out to diverse

00:58 communities and begin to ask them to come and be part of the process and give them the

01:05 right tools and training and resources that they need to be able to make it.

01:11 Habib Tijan has been a Conservative at Medway Council since 2015. He's concerned there's

01:16 still a long way to go in achieving fair representation and equality.

01:21 There is room for improvement, I would say, in terms of age, gender and race. For example,

01:29 if we look at race, 10% of our population, between 10% to 12% of our population in Medway

01:36 is of the ethnic minority. And I don't think that's proportionate to the representatives

01:42 we have on our council currently. So we could do a lot more. As I said, I want true representation

01:48 so people from all backgrounds should be able to take part.

01:52 We've been taking a look into Kent's two main local authorities to see how ethnically diverse

01:56 its council members are, starting with Kent County Council. Now the problem some have

02:01 raised here is its council members don't actually reflect how ethnically diverse Kent is, with

02:06 most of its council members being white and only a few being from ethnic backgrounds.

02:12 Taking a look at Kent's unitary authority, Medway Council, its cabinet definitely is more

02:17 ethnically diverse, but some say this still isn't good enough, as its cabinet members

02:21 who are from ethically diverse backgrounds are still the minority within the cabinet.

02:27 At Kent County Council, elected councillors from diverse ethnic backgrounds represent

02:32 fewer than 5% of the council. At Medway Council, it's fewer than 20%.

02:39 There are a number of very, very experienced councillors on Kent County Council's cabinet

02:43 and they have been there for quite a while. Some are now standing down, others are coming

02:48 through, but one of the biggest problems we've actually got is the councillors as a whole

02:52 across Kent County Council. We have a real problem there's not that many women elected

02:56 and there's certainly very, very few from ethnic minority backgrounds and that has to

03:00 change. The next elections are in 2025. I currently chair the Member Development Subcommittee

03:06 and that will be putting together a programme to encourage people to come forward and stand

03:10 and that will change the make-up of Kent County Council in the future.

03:13 It's about trying to make sure that they've got the skills and attributes, they're supporting

03:16 them through training, but also encouraging people to stand in the first place. I think

03:21 we've got a good track record in Medway of supporting individuals when they're perhaps

03:25 thinking about standing to put themselves forward and importantly get that support they

03:29 need when they're going through that journey from candidate to councillor.

03:35 As a general election looms, local councillors hope to see more diversity represented in

03:40 local and central government. Sophia Akin for KMTV.

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