Is a ‘British Obama’ Possible?
Many doubt that a minority could make it to 10 Downing Street any time soon.
As a result of the historic election of Barack Obama in the U.S., other countries have started wondering whether a similar occurrence would be possible in their nations — none more so than the Obama-worshiping United Kingdom. Its press, race industry, and political classes are all aflutter about whether or not it would be possible for a minority to become prime minister of the country.
Britain has, unlike the U.S., already had a female prime minister: Margaret Thatcher in the ’80s. While Bejamin Disreali, a conservative prime minister of the late 19th century, was Jewish, the debate is whether or not a non-European minority would make it to Number 10 Downing Street in the near future.
The head of the Commission for Racial Equality, Trevor Philips, has clearly stated that he thinks “institutional racism” will prevent a non-white from ever being prime minister of the United Kingdom. Much navel gazing and self-examination resulted from his comments. Philips believes Britain’s governing Labor Party would not let someone like Obama rise to the top.
If Barack Obama had lived here I would be very surprised if even somebody as brilliant as him would have been able to break through the institutional stranglehold that there is on power within the Labor Party,” said the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. He said that there was an “institutional resistance” to selecting black and Asian candidates. “The parties and unions and think-tanks are all very happy to sign up to the general idea of advancing the cause of minorities but in practice they would like somebody else to do the business. It’s institutional racism.
Page 1 of 2 Next ->
Andrew Ian Dodge blogs at Dodgeblogium.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
40 Comments
1. Sucks to be you - you racist Brits. Usually what happens in the U.K makes it way to the U.S. Now, it’s the other way around: Is a “British Obama” Possible? « Count Us Out:[...] to continue reading this blah blah blah bullsh*t: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/is-a-british-obama-possible/2/ [...]
Nov 26, 2008 - 3:51 am 2. Craig:“There has always been a perception that the Conservatives are some how more racist than the Labor Party. This is a perception that is actively encouraged by their opponents.”
Hmmm….gee this sounds SO FAMILIAR. Replace Labor with Democrats and voila! Here, the MSM rolls out that canard -every chance they get.
Nov 26, 2008 - 4:46 am 3. Dan Irving:From my experience, most Europeans are “loath to admit their dirty little secret”. It’s a good thing they have the US to bash and call ‘racist’.
Nov 26, 2008 - 5:55 am 4. Letters From A Tory:There will not be a minority PM for a long time in the UK. Institutional racism, assuming it exists, cannot be washed away with a bunch of baby-faced MPs making their way into the House of Commons.
Racism takes decades to shift in society and political life is no different.
http://www.lettersfromatory.com
Nov 26, 2008 - 6:01 am 5. Ian Thorpe:Um-er, sorry to break the news but Britain is not a nation of Obama worshippers. Even among the politically correct cliques of media types who have conspired to give that impression, there are an increasing numer of voices willing to question the myth of O’Bama’s oratorial skills, to ask “when did a string of cliches and banalities qualify as rhetoric?” and to point out that when he is six feet away from his autocue he becomes a gibbering idiot.
Others have noticed that Oh Bummer’s all plans for solving every problem are very similar: throw huge amounts of taxpayers money at it.
Most people here don’t actually give a damn what Sidi Obama says, does or thinks about anything.
That little oik Trevor Phillips, a career arsehole, has been trying to escalate racial tensions for years in order to increase his own profile in the race relations industry but nobody outside the Politically Correct Labour Party listens to him either.
As for the headline question, its irrelevant. The system is totally different in the UK and a junior politician cannot simply decide to “run for Prime Minister.” We have of course had a number of Scottish Prime Ministers so the generalisation “ethnic minority” cannot be applied. Other than that, promising politicians of Indian or African racial origin have either lost interst in progression, shown themselves to be fixated on one-issue or displayed a disastrous inability to keep their noses clean or to only accept sweetners from people who cannot afford to make the matter public.
So when a British political party finally decides it has a minority member with leadership potential that person can be elected leader and should they take the party to a general election victory they would automatically become Prime Minister.
Trevor Phillips’ commitment to democracy and the consitution is such that he would like to see the UK Consitution swept aside and a black or mixed race person parachuted into the job of Prime Minister (much as he was parachuted into his job, his only discernable qualification being his skin tone). Then as rioting and civil unrest erupted he would no doubt say “See, I told you they were all racists.”
Nov 26, 2008 - 7:47 am 6. Helen:Long wait for that.Europe can’t even get past its antisemitism despite the fact that there are about two dozen Jews in the whole place at this point. A bunch of hypocrites
Nov 26, 2008 - 8:12 am 7. Lilith:I do wish historians would stop lauding Disraeli as Britain’s answer to multiculturalism.
Nov 26, 2008 - 8:14 am 8. Lilith:His family had, indeed, been Jewish at one time. However, long before Disraeli became prime minister, his family had abandoned Judaism for the more socially acceptable Christianity. Disraeli was a Christian. Britain has never had a Jewish Prime Minister.
Personally, I’m waiting for the French (you remember, the people that brought the world the heartbreaking – albeit completely false – news of the tragic – okay, so it was all a hoax – murder of poor little whoosit Al Dura)to elect an Arab. Yeah, that’s going to happen.
Nov 26, 2008 - 8:21 am 9. JoshC:The level of ignorance displayed in the Comments so far is astonishing…
Nov 26, 2008 - 9:13 am 10. Andrew Ian Dodge:Well Lilith I think one could argue that you are being pedantic. Disreali was born of a Jewish mother, therefore he was Jewish. What his family did between the time he was born and when he was PM is rather irrelevant.
Ian’s point about Trevor Philips is apt. He never misses an opportunity to tells the British or some institution how they are “institutionally racist”.
Nov 26, 2008 - 9:33 am 11. Martge:Over and over and over you see the UK yell and scream that America is racist. I have posted this before…I searched out (knew it all along) all the PM’s and guess what none have been black. And if you look at the House of Lords and Commons you don’t see any either. SO ANSWER THIS BRITS, WHY ARE AMERICANS RACISTS…LOOKS LIKE YOU ARE AND NOT US.
Nov 26, 2008 - 10:27 am 12. Dodgeblogium » Obama-like PM in UK’s future…:[...] discuss, in my latest piece PJM whether or not its likely that the UK might follow the lead of the US and have a non-white PM. [...]
Nov 26, 2008 - 11:12 am 13. David Gillies:It’s worth noting also that the UK is 92% white as compared to 80% in the US. So there is a 2.5x bigger pool of potential minority candidates from a demographic standpoint.
In addition to several Scottish PM’s, the UK has had one Welshman (Lloyd George, eben though he was born in Manchester) and two Irishmen (the Earl of Shelburne and the Duke of Wellington).
As for Martge, the notion that no UK MPs or peers are or have been from ethnic minorities is stupid. Straight off the top of my head: Diane Abbott, Nirj Deva, John Taylor, Adam Afriyie, Lord (Nazir) Ahmed, John Sentamu (who by virtue of being Archbishop of York sits in the Lords).
Nov 26, 2008 - 11:31 am 14. Laura:Disraeli’s father had him baptized as a child, ergo he was no longer a practicing Jew but a Christian. He would NOT have been elected PM if he had not been a Christian. Once you become an apostate from Judaism, you are not longer considered a Jew.
Nov 26, 2008 - 11:35 am 15. kelly k:“a junior politician cannot simply decide to ‘run for Prime Minister.’”
Wait, you mean someone with no executive experience whatsoever–a backbencher with his name on a handful of failed projects–can’t be put in position to take the most powerful office in your country? What’s wrong with you people?
Nov 26, 2008 - 11:40 am 16. Andrew Ian Dodge:As I said in the piece there was a Conservative MP in the early 20th century who was a Sikh and a fair amount of Jewish ones since then.
Laura: He would NOT have been elected PM if he had not been a Christian. That is a fair point.
I might add that no one is in fact elected PM. He or she is leader of your party and then your party with a majority in parliament and that person becomes PM. PM in the UK is not directly elected. It is only recent that even members of the party(s) had any say in the matter whatever. In fact Gordon Brown was not even leader when this government came to power; so the public had no say whatever in his being chosen as leader and ultimately PM.
Nov 26, 2008 - 12:37 pm 17. Mary Jackson:Disraeli’s father had him baptized as a child, ergo he was no longer a practicing Jew but a Christian.
Never trust anyone – black or white – who says “ergo”.
Nov 26, 2008 - 12:46 pm 18. David H:5. Totally agree
Nov 26, 2008 - 1:12 pm 19. Bugs:Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the influx of huge numbers of non-white, culturally-diverse immigrants into Great Britain mainly a post-colonial phenomenon? I’m aware that there have been various non-white communities in Britain for many years, but I have the impression that mass immigration has only recently made them a politically, economically, and socially significant bloc. If that’s the case, then it might be true to say that the non-immigrant British have only had about 60 years to get used to “foreigners” having a major presence in and effect on their daily lives. And the “foreigners” have only had 60 years to fit into a new culture, learn how the political system works, and begin to assert themselves politically. Regardless of how much social engineering the Goverment does, it still takes time for humans to adjust to new situations.
It took us Americans 232 years to elect a black President – and black people have been part of our society the entire time. For most of that period, nobody would have even considered asking “Why have we never had a black president?” The question would have been absurd. That the British can ask it after only 60 years seems to indicate that they’re not quite as racist as some people believe. I think there’s a little Indian or Pakistani or Bahamian kid – now a British citizen – who thinks he’ll be PM one day. And he’s probably right.
Nov 26, 2008 - 2:17 pm 20. Mary Jackson:Black or white, who cares? Margaret Thatcher, peace be upon her, was elected not because she was a woman, but because she was the right man for the job.
Content of character, anyone?
Nov 26, 2008 - 3:14 pm 21. Doug B:Don’t forget that the British were the ones who brought slaves to the American colonies! The Brits were racist then and still are despite all their condescending rhetoric about Americans. Let’s see when the Brits put their votes where their mouths have been!
Nov 26, 2008 - 3:15 pm 22. Mary Jackson:Don’t forget that the British were the ones who brought slaves to the American colonies!
Hmm. And the American colonies were only too happy to accept them, and enslave them. Long after independence from the British.
Nov 26, 2008 - 3:55 pm 23. David Gillies:And the Royal Navy was at the forefront of stamping out the slave trade, having abolished slavery several decades before the US.
Nov 26, 2008 - 5:49 pm 24. Tim H.:“And the Royal Navy was at the forefront of stamping out the slave trade, having abolished slavery several decades before the US.” Indeed.
They had no need for slaves. They had figured out how to indenture and swindle the Irish and others under their control. You gotta love the Brits (and I do). They stay one step ahead of the historians. When all is said and done though the Brits are our best friend in this back stabbing world.
Don’t trust anyone who says “Indeed” either.
Timmmmmmmmmmmmm
Nov 26, 2008 - 6:42 pm 25. Jonesy55:“Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t the influx of huge numbers of non-white, culturally-diverse immigrants into Great Britain mainly a post-colonial phenomenon? I’m aware that there have been various non-white communities in Britain for many years, but I have the impression that mass immigration has only recently made them a politically, economically, and socially significant bloc.”
This is true, it does take a couple of generation at least for new immigrant groups to assert themselves politically, the first generations are probably more concerned with just getting on with their lives and working to involve themselves heavily in national politics. This is also true for minorities in most other countries in Europe.
I’m not claiming that there is no racism in Europe, just as I don’t beleive that there is none in the USA but the situation of African-Americans, a large minority that has been a part of the country for over 250 years, is different in several ways to the minorities of Europe who are probably more demographically akin to the recent wave of Mexican/central American immigrants into the US.
Nov 27, 2008 - 1:31 am 26. Jonesy55:Lilith
“Personally, I’m waiting for the French to elect an Arab. Yeah, that’s going to happen.”
Well, if you’re genuinely interested (as opposed to just wanting to smugly say how great you are and how much you hate the French), why not look up Rachida Dati for starters.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachida_Dati
Nov 27, 2008 - 1:34 am 27. ew:Before Europe starts trying to grasp at their own idol to worship, it might be a good idea to see what Obama and his illuminati actually DO.
Nov 27, 2008 - 6:03 am 28. foxy tim:Ian Thorpe; I`m hesitant to tag someone a neanderthal and imbecilic racist, just from the drivel they spout on the anonymity of the keyboard.Reading your claptrap, I feel less hesitant ! Hey, even the ugliest racists and right wing nuts cede oratory to Obama; they actually allege that that is his only leadership quality claim.
Nov 27, 2008 - 7:09 pm 29. Jim Baker:And what`s with “oh bummers”, “sidi”, and “oiks” and stuff ???
I shouldnt have to acknowledge your transparent idiocy but I couldnt let the chance slip; you and your ilk are a part of what`s wrong with our world: bigotry, be it racial or religious etc.
You, Ian, are an earth`s scum !!!
Who cares about any of this? The pundit class is obsessed with the color of people’s skin. Sheesh!
Nov 27, 2008 - 9:24 pm 30. Iris Bittencourt:The problem that I have with these post-hoc introspective analyses of whether Obama could exist in country X or Y is that the conversation quickly strays into irrelevancies. The question is not whether a “minority” could be elected, but rather whether a black man (called African-American in the US, perhaps Jamaican in the UK) could be elected to the highest office in the country. Why would anyone compare the struggles of descendants of modern slavery with any other group? Do you compare the Asians, Sikhs or others to the Jews, six million of whom died in concentration camps during WWII? No. The very idea is absurd to most. How many descendants of Africans perished during the Middle Passage and slavery in the Americas (over 400 million)? How many perished as a result of brutal colonization by Europeans, most notably the British? Why would you compare their struggle with the struggle of any other group? Electing an Asian, a Pakistani or whatever is not the same as electing an African-American. Please stop this nonsense. It makes no sense whatsoever. The black man has no historical equal.
Nov 28, 2008 - 5:53 am 31. Jonesy55:Iris,
Is Obama the descendent of slaves?
Nov 28, 2008 - 7:18 am 32. RS LaRue:Why in the world would England want an Obama? I don’t think the world even knows what an Obama is besides hope and change driven by hate for what currently is happening no solutions just hope and change driven by hate and ignorance exactly what keeps the world in its never ending problems.
Nov 28, 2008 - 12:35 pm 33. Tom Paine:Lilith, Laura, & Andrew Ian Dodge are all hair-splitting pedants.
Did Disraeli consider himself Jewish? Did his party consider him Jewish? Did the electorate consider him Jewish?
If so, then he’s a Jewish PM.
If not… go back to splitting your hairs.
Nov 28, 2008 - 3:07 pm 34. Anthony Benjamin:Mr Ian Thorpe belongs to group of people just 1 level above the Neandertals, they derive their identities from the group but fail to grasp their own uniqueness. Reasoning with one of members is useless.
Nov 29, 2008 - 3:24 am 35. Anne:In the TV series Doctor Who England already had an Obama. Young, handsom and charismatic Harry
Nov 29, 2008 - 6:19 pm 36. Iris Bittencourt:Saxon in the Doctor Who episode ‘The Sound Of The Drums’ who had dark ambitions when running for Prime Minister of England
I know its only a TV show, but it does compare a little to what’s happening here in America right?
Jonesy55,
As is typical, you try one gotcha question and ignore the rest of my post. Well, in response to your inane question, Michelle Obama certainly is a descendant of slaves, and Barack Obama is a descendant of Kenya, which was colonized by the British from 1888 to December 12, 1963. If you read my original post, I referred to British colonization as well.
Now that I have answered your silly question, how about addressing the substance of my original post.
Nov 30, 2008 - 12:14 pm 37. Peg C.:As soon as I read “Obama” and “brilliant” in the same sentence, I quit reading. He is anything but, unless “brilliant” is followed by “con artist.”
Nov 30, 2008 - 2:59 pm 38. Anonymous:Iris,
Ah, ok, so colonisation counts too, in which case that does make comparisons to Indians valid doesn’t it?
Nov 30, 2008 - 11:22 pm 39. Tom:Good article.
Dec 5, 2008 - 3:01 pm 40. Jack:Thanks for sharing this post.
Europeans have always been far more advanced in race relations than the U.S. We’re too stupid. We let the South off the hook after the war.
Dec 6, 2008 - 11:03 pm