Read more: Cameron's EU deal is wafer thin, but that's not the point
Britain’s Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities should be at the heart of the referendum debate. They are among the most reliable Labour voters, so they should be central to the effort to get as many people to the polling stations as possible. And they should be mobilised to defend all the benefits of the European Union—from strong equality legislation through to open markets for entrepreneurs to exploit.But there are two problems for the Remain campaign. For one thing, most voters have no idea that the Labour Party supports staying in the EU. The studied detachment of Jeremy Corbyn on the issue tells voters a truth—that he thinks the EU is a bankers’s romp and only the desire to avoid a row prevents him from telling his MPs that.
The second thing is that the Leave campaign has found a seductive message to pitch to BME voters. When they first started banging on about how the UK outside the EU could have renewed relationships with the Commonwealth I thought they were simply nostalgic for the past and longing for the days of Imperial Preference. I was wrong. They were doing something different—and very clever. Their argument is actually about the New Commonwealth and is aimed at BME voters. Leave are signalling that outside the EU the UK could allow more people from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh—after all, someone will have to replace all those Eastern European workers. And it’s working—the message is getting through.
Remain needs to respond. But how? As in all political campaigning, it should be swift and brutal. So they should cause a row and force the Leave argument into the open. The reason this argument about the Commonwealth is being made sotto voce is because if it was stated openly it would alienate those UKIP voters who form the base of Leave. By taking it head on that contradiction can be exposed and the question for the BME community will be "Can you really believe that Nigel Farage wants to let more Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis into Britain?" Light the blue touchpaper and stand well clear.
That’s only the start. Then a whole strategy needs to swing in behind, offering a pro-EU case skilfully tailored for each BME community, religious or otherwise. Different for Somalis, West Africans, Chinese, Sikhs, Hindus, and Muslims. Most of the elements for a successful BME campaign are in place already—the polling, the research, the media buying, the comms team, the field operation. These need to be deployed community by community to deliver the strongest message. "Persuade," "Inspire," "Mobilise"—these must be the watchwords.
But the core argument must always be the strongest—the economic one. That trumps everything else in this referendum. The good news is that Remain have the talent to do this. In a smart move, they picked up Manchester councillor Amina Lone to run this area of the campaign. An experienced and networked campaigner, she should by rights now be MP for Morecambe and Lunesdale, but the PLP’s loss is Remain’s gain.
One further thing is needed—a massive expansion of the types of voices making pro-EU arguments. It’s no disrespect to Sir Stuart Rose to suggest that he might not be the persuader of choice for BME communities. The worlds of politics and academia should for plundered for pro-EU BME voices, and the worlds of arts and sports should be plundered, too: let's get Amir Khan and Mo Farah on side.
Big names help to broadcast a message, but there’s a need for narrowcasting too. When it comes to attracting young BME voters, Remain should try and get Skepta and JME on side. Not heard of them? Good, you’re not meant to have done. They are "grime" artists—rappers, of a kind. We know that young people are overwhelmingly in favour of EU membership—by a factor of three to one. But we also know that they are less likely to vote than the over-sixties. Young people need to be inspired to go to the polls too. And maybe here, given that diversity is wonderfully woven into our popular culture, what is done for BME young people can work for all young voters. What poetic revenge that would be—grime MCs defeating Nigel Farage.
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