Would Britain elect a black prime minister?

Wednesday, 12 November 2008 5:26 PM

Britons are torn on whether the UK would elect a black prime minister, according to a politics.co.uk poll released today.

politics.co.uk asked its readers if the UK would vote for a black prime minister on the eve of the American elections, where Barack Obama cruised to victory with 364 electoral votes.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents said the UK would elect a black prime minister, and 39 per cent disagreed.

The poll follows a week of introspection for some British political commentators, with various thinktanks and MPs questioning whether the UK would ever go down America's path.

Last week, new research by the Fabian Society indicated a British Obama was "closer than you think".

The thinktank found more black and Asian MPs will be returned to parliament at the next election than ever before.

"The chances for a British Obama are now much more hopeful than they would have been even ten years ago," said Fabian general secretary Sunder Katwala.

politics.co.uk users proved to be emphatically pro-Obama, with 89 per cent saying he would make a better president than John McCain, the Republican nominee.

But asked who would make the better president from a British perspective, the number dropped slightly to 86 per cent.

President-elect Obama took time out from constructing his Cabinet yesterday to lay a wreath in Chicago to commemorate Veterans Day.

No appointments are set to be announced this week but the Obama team is expected to make some key staff announcements early next week.

The president-elect spent Monday touring the White House with current occupant president George Bush.

Tags:
• domestic policy
,
• equality
,
• race relations