This is the third part of Runnymede's analysis of the 2015 General Election through the lens of race. Our Director Dr Omar Khan turns to black and minority ethnic (BME) MPs, looking at what their representation means for British democracy today.

Click here to read Part 1: Black and minority ethnic (BME) voters

Click here to read Part 2: Voting patterns by ethnicity

Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) Members of Parliament

One of the clear positive outcomes of the 2015 General Election was the increase in the diversity of parliament, at least in terms of gender and ethnicity (though perhaps not in terms of education or social class background). In 2015, there were 40 BME MPs elected, up from 27 in 2010, and continuing a significant rise from what had been a relatively slow increase from 1987, when the first postwar BME MPs were elected, onwards. As Table 5 indicates, a clear reason for this increase is the Conservative Party’s commitment from 2010.

Table 5. Black and minority ethnic MPs, 1987-2015