Minority Ethnic MPs in the UK Parliament since 1987

Since 1987, the number of minority ethnic MPs in UK parliament has steadily increased. With just four being elected in 1987, the 2019 general election saw 65 MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds being elected into UK Parliament, serving in the House of Commons. Alongside this, 7.5% of those who made up the House of Lords were from minority ethnic groups. Although considered to be Britain's most diverse parliament with MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds constituting 10% of the overall MPs elected that year, scholarly literature and oral histories on minority ethnic MPs as a whole in the UK does not reflect this change.

The project, working in partnership with the University of Leicester and History of Parliament will aim to bridge this gap. One way which this will be achieved through oral interviews. The interviews will take place with minority ethnic MPs across the political spectrum in the UK who have served in the House of Commons. The interviews will solely focus on the MPs lives, careers, and their own personal experiences throughout this time. These interviews will then be added to the History of Parliament sound archives to make them easily accessible and to contribute to future research.

Although 1987 is considered the year the first minority ethnic MPs were elected to UK Parliament, scholarly articles and political censuses have concluded that the first MP from a minority ethnic group was considered to be James Townshend of the Whig Party, serving as the West Looe constituency in Cornwall in 1767. Townshend is just one example of many who encompass the change in ideas and definitions around race and ethnicity.

As a result, the interviews coupled with the research taking place will lay the foundations for the project which will aim to explore wider themes of Contemporary British Social and Political History, the British Empire, Race, Ethnicity (and the definitions around this) and the development of political institutions.