LAMBETH - THE MOST RACIST COUNCIL IN THE UK?
(21 February 2006)

Operation Black Vote (OBV), a campaign to increase more ethnic minority representation in Politics, is accusing Lambeth of being the most the racist council in the UK. The charges come on the eve a protest outside Lambeth Authority building on 22 February 2006. In relation to its 40% Black and minority ethnic (BME) population Lambeth has the least number of BME councillors in the country -5 of 63 - less than 10%. It also has one of the worst voter registration levels in the country - 70%.

The arguments supporting the charge: The promise of a new school in Brixton is being scrapped; the Council has refused to reinstate Black worker Alex Owalade who won his Tribunal against the Authority. And, the authorities refusal to undertake an extra voter registration canvas that could pick up as many as 20, 000 Black people not on the electoral register.

Simon Woolley head of Operation Black Vote stated: "The Council knows that Black people are 4 times more likely not to be registered than white people, therefore their refusal to undertake an extra canvas knowingly disenfranchises Black communities. Clearly with an almost all white Local Authority the voice of the Black community can be and is ignored. Regardless of the Authority's refusal listen or collaborate with OBV the organisation will do its best to send voter registration teams to Lambeth. Once registered Black people will be given a voice during the forthcoming local elections".

Alex Owolade, former Lambeth shop steward who was unfairly sacked, said: "The decision to not undertake this late voter registration campaign is outrageous'. The Council spent over £1m on defending the rights of managers to discriminate against their staff. This decision is a way of disenfranchising key sectors of this community. They are just sticking to this concept of white privilege which is not tenable anymore. It's the modern-day Jim Crowe mentality".

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