Ethnic diversity in politics and public life

This briefing looks at the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in a range of public positions across the UK. Key points are summarised here; sources are referenced in the body of the paper.

In 2022/23 about 16% of the UK population was from a minority ethnic background, and in 2021 ranged from 3% in Northern Ireland to 18% in England.

The proportion of people from a minority ethnic background in the UK has risen in recent years, and so has the representation of minority ethnic groups in political and public positions.

However, in most cases the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in such positions is lower than in the population as a whole – and often markedly so. The exceptions are the NHS and the social work sector.

The term “minority ethnic” here refers to all people who do not identify with the “White” ethnic group in Great Britain, and all those apart from the “White” and “Irish Traveller” categories in Northern Ireland. More detail on ethnic categories is in Section 1.1.

UK Parliament and Government

There is no official data on the number of Members of Parliament from minority ethnic backgrounds. It is estimated that following the 2019 General Election, 66 Members of the House of Commons (10%) were from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Four MPs from minority ethnic groups were elected in 1987, the first since 1929: Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz. The number has increased at each general election since then – most notably from 2010 onwards – as the chart below shows. But if the ethnic make-up of the House of Commons reflected that of the UK population, there would be about 104 MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Source: British Future (2019), House of Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP7529, UK Election Statistics: 1918-2019

Of the 66 MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds, 41 (62%) are Labour and 23 are Conservatives (35%). There are two Liberal Democrat MPs from a minority ethnic background. More than half (37) of the 66 are women.  

When Prime Minister Rishi Sunak appointed his first Cabinet in October 2022, it included five Ministers from a minority ethnic background, including himself.

Other elected bodies in the UK

As of September 2022 Six (4.5%) of the Scottish Parliament’s 129 members and three (5%) of the 60 Members of the Welsh Parliament are from minority ethnic backgrounds, including the first woman of colour elected since the start of the devolution. None of the 90 Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly were recorded as being from a minority ethnic group.

As well as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, eight (32%) of the 25 Members of the London Assembly were from minority ethnic backgrounds in September 2022, compared with about 40.6% of London’s population.

Minority ethnic representation in local government is lower than the corresponding population in all countries of the United Kingdom. A 2019 audit by Operation Black Vote found that while councils in some local authorities, especially in London, closely reflected the local ethnic make-up, many others had no ethnic minority councillors at all.

Public sector staff

Ethnic diversity among public sector staff varies noticeably across services and countries of the UK, although figures are often hard to compare. Two sectors stand out as having high levels of minority ethnic staff, especially in England: the NHS and the social work sectors.

In NHS England, 26.2% of staff reported as being from a minority ethnic background in 2022, compared with 18% of the economically active population. 48% of doctors in NHS England were from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of staff from an Asian background was particularly high, at 31% of both doctors and nurses.

In September 2022, 23.9% of social workers in England were from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of social workers from a Black background was particularly high at 13.3%, compared with 4% of the economically active population.

The ethnic profile of the UK Civil Service and the UK Army was similar to that of the wider economically active population. In most other public services, minority ethnic representation was significantly lower, although most have reported gradual improvements.

Fire and Rescue services typically reported the lowest figures – as low as 0.2% in Northern Ireland, compared with 3% of the economically active population (the latest available data for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service is for 2019).

Finally, in the majority of cases where data is available, minority ethnic representation is often lower in the higher pay grades.

This briefing contains a list of MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds. This list has been compiled using data from external sources. MPs wishing to be included in or removed from the list can contact the House of Commons Library.