This article was written by Damian and published in this week's Herald and Petersfield Post editions:
"One striking feature of the Conservative Party leadership and prime ministerial election has been the diversity of the candidates.
I believe it has been the most diverse such contest ever in Britain. I have even been told it is the most diverse ever in any democracy – but I haven’t been able to verify that conclusively!
Of the 10 initial candidates, six were from ethnic minority backgrounds; four were women. The last five consisted of three women, two men.
It is a big change that has happened over the last twenty years.
The Conservative party gave Britain the first female MP to take a seat in the Commons, Nancy Astor, and the first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. It was also the party of (probably) the first ethnic minority MP, Hampshire’s John Stewart, elected for the Lymington constituency in 1832.
But the road has been a long one. David Cameron in particular made great efforts to ensure representation and selection were not only open to all, but that the full range of possible candidates were encouraged to apply.
Across the political spectrum, the representation of the ethnic variety of Britain has lagged its reality. The four ethnic minority MPs elected in 1987 (all of whom were Labour) were the first (in any party) since 1929.
Pleased to say the 2019 election delivered the most diverse parliament we have ever seen (although still with a minority composition short of the population as a whole).
Around the Cabinet table of late have been Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Alok Sharma, Kwasi Kwarteng, Sajid Javid, Nadhim Zahawi and Suella Braverman. Almost all UK parties have now had a female leader.
Elsewhere, diversity has been improving, too.
People of an ethnic minority constitute about 15% of the economically active population and the profile of the Civil Service and the Army now broadly mirror this. Very striking is the NHS, where 22% of NHS staff – and 44% of doctors and 29% of hospital consultants – are of ethnic minority backgrounds.
There are of course other aspects of diversity that are important, including age and disability. We’ve got a lot more work to do – because diversity is good for everyone.
One of the most striking statistics in Education is that schools with the greatest ethnic diversity have been among the very highest performers. But there is good reason to believe that same effect stretches into adulthood and the business world.
The first, most obvious benefit of diversity, is that it reflects equality of opportunity, which is necessary for simple fairness.
But more than that: if you are not tapping into the full range of available talent, you are missing a business opportunity, restricting your organisation’s potential.
And the diversity of talent itself is important. This really came home to me as Minister for Employment. Whereas I had always known non-discrimination is vital, it was in this role that I came to realise the competitive advantage of employers with diverse workforces.
They can think differently, understand the breadth of their own customer base better, bring different approaches to solving problems, and (through age diversity) have more stable succession planning and informal mentoring and career development.
At the DWP, we ran a campaign to encourage businesses to think about the value of employing older people, and the significant contribution those life skills and experience could bring to their workforce.
Many people need to, or seek to, change their careers later in life, either out of necessity or a preference for a different lifestyle or working schedule.
It was exactly this group that was at the heart of the New Directions events I hosted a few years ago at Alton College, bringing together individuals aged over 50 with employers, training organisations and volunteering outfits that could offer them new opportunities.
The diversity of the UK brings a real vibrancy to so many communities across the country.
This is something truly to be celebrated, and I have no doubt that politics, and society more generally, are richer because of it.
I hope we will continue to see that diversity represented in government and Parliament, and it will continue to grow."
