Birmingham Labour group in racism row over ‘toxic culture’

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One of Labour’s biggest local branches has been plunged into a racism storm, with minority ethnic councillors claiming there is a “toxic culture” designed to keep them “in their place, which is at the bottom”.

Leaders of the Labour group on Birmingham city council were accused of “not taking racism and discrimination seriously”, and criticised for a “frankly appalling” lack of representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) politicians in senior roles.

Complaints, compiled in a document seen by the Guardian, were made that “too many turned a blind eye” to racist slurs, while one councillor admitted their experience had “left me feeling like I don’t belong”.

A source within the Birmingham Labour party, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I ended up in tears reading this report because this is not my city, this is not my party, but unfortunately this is what has been going on.

“If the survey wasn’t anonymised, no one would have completed it because they’re all scared. People in the party are shocked but not surprised with this report, because they know how bad it is.”

As well as claims about racism within the party, surveyed councillors also said constituents in areas with high BAME populations felt “forgotten about” and “purposely neglected”.

One claimed that “Asian areas” were “not getting enough resources compared to other areas” and had to put up with dirtier streets than more affluent parts of the city because of funding discrepancies.

Another said council-organised burial services were too slow, an important issue for Muslims as the Islamic faith states burials should be conducted as quickly as possible after death. They questioned whether the failure to resolve it was ethnically motivated.

The anonymised survey, conducted by Birmingham Labour’s BAME group officer, Saima Suleman, was completed over the summer by 17 councillors. Suleman said she was “deeply concerned about some of the behaviours and issues outlined”.

Councillors aired their frustrations, with one saying there was a “culture that we should not critique the leadership” and while BAME people were “condemned” for standing for senior positions, “other white members are always welcomed”.

A second said they faced “one hurdle after another” to become a councillor, whereas some colleagues had been “shipped in”. They suggested: “If I wasn’t BAME then it would have been a different story.”

Others said they feared speaking up about “institutionalised racism” and claimed the leadership was “not recognising we have a problem”.

Another complaint said: “They talk equality and diversity but my experience has been they are happy to create division to fulfil personal ambition and keep BAME members in their place, which is at the bottom.”

Ian Ward, the leader of Birmingham city council, said he welcomed the report. “It’s an appraisal of the issues we face in Birmingham and that’s why I was so keen for it to be undertaken,” he said. “We’ve made great strides in improving diversity both in the Labour group and cabinet.”

Wider concerns with the council’s priorities were also aired in the survey, with councillors claiming issues such as fly-tipping and poor housing provision in areas with higher BAME populations were “not taken seriously”.

“We need to do the basics right and invest funding into the communities where our deprived communities live,” one councillor urged. “Too many vulnerable people are suffering [in] our city and as a Labour council, we should be helping them.”

Asked how comfortable they felt raising issues around race within the Labour group, six said very uncomfortable, eight were somewhat uncomfortable and just three were somewhat comfortable.

The findings make difficult reading for Labour, given Birmingham city council is billed as the largest local authority in Europe, serving more than 1 million people.

Labour has held overall control of the council since 2012 and Ward was re-elected as leader in May, after a closely fought contest with the councillor Waseem Zaffar, who had served as a cabinet member.

Ward described Zaffar’s decision to run for the leadership as a “breach of trust” .

One survey respondent said: “The recent experience in the leader election shocked many and has certainly made me think about the culture.”

In a statement, Ward said: “Significant work has been undertaken by the wider council, including publishing a race pay audit, and our ‘everyone’s battle, everyone’s business’ strategy recognises the deep-lying issues that we face and is strengthening the important process of making the council more representative of the city. But there is clearly even more to do.”

He added: “Working together we will continue to act on these findings. I’d like to thank colleagues for contributing.”