A new dawn and a new era? After Labour’s dramatic landslide win, Keir Starmer swiftly assembled a new cabinet which has more state-school members than any previous administration and more women, including the first female Chancellor. Furthermore, appointments have been made from beyond the pool of MPs, reflecting a wider society. These include the inspiring James Timpson as Prisons Minister whose company employs ex-prisoners or helps them to find work.
Surely this represents the majority of the population better than private school-educated wealthy people? Well, no sooner was the cabinet announced, than the criticisms started. People from all sides were quick to point out that, visually at least, the previous Cabinet represented more diversity. There was a wider range of ethnicities represented in the previous Cabinet, including the Prime Minister himself.
Think beyond the optics
Is it just about what people look like though? It seems that for Cabinet Ministers, we cannot stop ourselves from looking at the optics. With more women in the Cabinet, predictably the critics start looking at their clothes more than their politics. Angela Rayner immediately encountered criticism over what she has been wearing, with some sections of the press writing more about her clothes than the work she is doing.
But given her background of leaving school at 16, being a young mother, living in social housing, working her way up through the trade unions to her present position, it is clear that she has lived a life that resonates with many others in this country who will appreciate her understanding of the challenges they face.
With different chairs at the table, is it time to think about what representation really means? Is it about other factors in people’s lives than appearances, and can we not think beyond the optics?
Representation matters
The previous Cabinet were mostly privately educated and wealthy, although they did represent different ethnicities. For me, frustratingly, Rishi Sunak’s life and background were disturbingly similar to mine. His father was a GP, he grew up as British Asian and probably faced the same racism I did. As a Prime Minister though? The decisions he made in government bear no relation to anything in my life. Although he might look similar to me and my family, everything else about him does not represent me. Along with his cabinet colleagues, Priti Patel, Suella Braverman and Clare Coutinho, I did not see people who reflected my background or world view.
In terms of data, Rishi Sunak’s Cabinet was 19% women, with five out of 31 people from ethnic minorities, 61% educated at private schools, and 45% having attended Oxbridge or Cambridge. Compare that to only two of the new Cabinet being privately educated and nearly half are women, 26 women (46%). It’s also a younger Cabinet than usual, with the youngest being Louise Haigh aged 37 and the oldest being Hilary Benn who is 70.
Most do not come from backgrounds of extreme wealth and privilege and their life experience reflects that of many in this country. However, given that more than 13% of MPs in our new parliament come from ethnic minorities, should not more than three – David Lammy, Lisa Nandy and Shabana Mahmood – have made it to the top table?
Representative decisions
What matters though when it comes to representation? Although Rishi Sunak was the first Prime Minister of colour, as were 16% of his Cabinet, the choices made and the policies pushed through did not reflect that representation, particularly those on immigration and child poverty. The ban on families accompanying overseas students to the UK, the Rwanda policy, the cruel abandonment of many Afghans who had legitimate claims to asylum, and the continuation of the two-child benefit cap are only a few examples. Just some of those headlines show that the previous Cabinet was out of step with people’s lives.
By contrast, in just a few short days, the new Cabinet has made decisions that directly impact people’s lives including:
- Ending the Rwanda scheme
- Renters’ Rights Bill
- Great British Energy
- Passenger Railway Services Bill
- Employment Rights Bill
Many people are feeling the pinch of high rents, or if people can afford to buy then it’s high mortgages. Energy prices, train fares, insecure employment are all things that directly address people’s concerns. Of course there are still disappointments, the two-child benefit cap is still in place and there were policies missing on the environment. The Labour Party will also have to confront their critics over their stance on Palestine.
What we can see though, is more of a willingness and desire to look at the concerns that the majority of people experience rather than to demonise immigrants or plan tax cuts for the wealthy. So does this show that representation is about far more than the optics? Take another look!
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