The BAME campaign is an autonomous network for anyone who self-defines as black, or minority ethnic. It exists because those from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are still under-represented and discriminated against in every section of our society; and because there are still people today who discriminate against individuals because of the colour of their skin, or because of their personal religious beliefs.

Those from BAME backgrounds are more likely to end up in prison than white people. Employment rates are lower in BAME communities; BAME people are under-represented in Parliament, in business, in the police force and nearly every other pillar of British society.

The Labour movement throughout its history has done much to fight the discrimination faced by those from black, asian and minority ethnic backgrounds. It was Harold Wilson who enacted the landmark Race Relations Act in 1976, and this Government that amended it in 2001. It was the Labour Government that set up the Macpherson Report into the shocking racist murder of Stephen Lawrence. And it was this Labour Government that introduced legislation to ensure that racial and religious motivations in crimes are now explicitly acknowledged and recorded.

Yet there is still so much more to do and the Labour Students BAME Campaign exists to continually fight for equal representation and to fight the prejudice that remains in our society. By discussing and fighting these issues now, we are ensuring that our movement will be at the forefront of the fight to make Britain a better place for black and minority ethnic citizens, and thus for all.

For more information on any aspect of the BAME Campaign, e-mail our BAME Officer, Rhia Rhoy, at bame@labourstudents.org.uk.