Burnham must shift UK mood on racism, chair of Operation Black Vote says

David Weaver: ‘Black people are seeing their British identity questioned.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen David Weaver: ‘Black people are seeing their British identity questioned.’ Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian Burnham must shift UK mood on racism, chair of Operation Black Vote says Incoming PM must seize chance to stop race discourse deflecting from class inequalities, says David Weaver Andy Burnham has a historic opportunity to shift the national mood on racism, the chair of Operation Black Vote has said. In an interview marking the 30th anniversary of the influential nonpartisan civil rights organisation, David Weaver, the chair of Operation Black Vote (OBV), said Burnham must seize the chance to change a UK political culture where race and migration discourse is used to deflect from class inequalities and ineffective leadership. Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor, will become prime minister on Monday, after being confirmed as the new Labour leader on Friday. His prospectus for power – including devolution, reindustrialisation, technical education and a more economically interventionist state – promises to address class and regional inequalities. Weaver said: “The conversations [Burnham] is having about class, inequality and listening to communities – they’re often not about race, but they’re beneficial. “Not simply because they have the potential to help Black communities, but because they have the potential to make white working-class communities more secure. What he does now is critical: a society can’t thrive if it’s divided.” Nonetheless, Weaver said Burnham could not ignore “the specificity of race” when ethnonationalist rhetoric , ethnic disparities and race riots meant Black and Asian Britons were discussing the prospect of having to leave the UK “at levels unseen since the 70s”. He urged Burnham to grant legal aid to Windrush scandal survivors and overhaul the underperforming compensation scheme by removing it from Home Office control and expediting payments. Weaver also called for Burnham to restore the Labour whip to the pioneering Black MP Diane Abbott , whose “appalling” treatment was consistently cited to OBV by Black voters. Weaver noted that Burnham was assuming office when pessimism among Black and Asian Britons about their future in the UK was at its lowest since Enoch Powell’s “rivers of blood” speech. He said: “We do have hope that there will be equity, but when you look at the things being said now, even in parliament, it makes what Enoch Powell said look like a nursery rhyme. “Black people are seeing their British identity questioned. They are confused, despondent and pessimistic about their future in this country and as a response to the normalisation of racism, they are speaking about ancestry, the diaspora, more than ever. “People will take trips, if they’re fortunate enough, to the Caribbean or Africa or India, Pakistan, and think – is there more hope for me here?” I