The power of the Black Vote

Almost 1000 people have already signed up for tomorrow's London Mayoral hustings.

The BBC, ITV, The Sunday Times, Guardian and most of the BME media will be on hand to cover the event.

The Black vote could be a significant factor in these elections and give an indication about the political landscape for the General election in 2015.

It is no surprise to me that at the highest level of the Conservative Party, party strategists have informed Cameron that he needs the BME vote to win 2015 election. Research by Andrew Cooper, David Cameron's director of political strategy, identified more than 30 urban seats, with big black and minority ethnic populations, which needed to be won to secure a Tory majority in 2015.

The party is taking this so seriously that the Prime Ministers Private Secretary has been dispatched to Canada to meet with Jason Kenney, the Conservative Minister for Citizenship and Multiculturalism, who has been nicknamed the "Smiling Buddha" in reference to his efforts to garner ethnic votes.

At tomorrow's event and the weeks and months ahead BME communities have a unique opportunity to shape policy that will help tackle persistent race inequality. Why? Because the main parties need our vote. The price for our vote must be greater equality and greater opportunity. Non-negotiable!

If you haven’t already signed up for tomorrow’s event, sign up now.

Simon Woolley