London Mayor Ken Livingstone has defended his record on race relations after an attack by Conservative leader David Cameron.
Speaking at the Ethnic Media conference yesterday Mr Camerson accused the Mayor wanting to confine the debate on race and equality to “a narrative about race that sees people from ethnic minorities as potential agents of revolutionary change.”
In a statement issued by the Mayor’s office this morning Mr Livingstone said the capital’s “internationalisation and multiculturalism are the keys to its success as the greatest city in the world” which “have allowed it to overtake even New York as the most successful international city.”
The Mayor also said the decline in racist attacks was evidence of the “good relations” between London’s various communities. He claimed Mr Cameron’s comments were “simply a softer version of the ‘Tebbit test'” and that “every member of an ethnic minority, of any income, class or creed, now knows that they are expected by him and his colleagues to abandon their cultural identity to be really considered British citizens.”
Contrasting his record on race relations with that of the Conservatives Mr Livingstone said: “it is perhaps slightly positive that twenty years after London woke up to it at the time of the GLC David Cameron has come to realise that having a white parliamentary party and councillors, and claiming this is unimportant, is unacceptable, but as with most policies proclaimed by David Cameron we expect to see a lot of words and very few actions.”
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David Cameron Attacks Mayor Livingstone
