The black vote is more important than ever at this election – only Jeremy Corbyn can offer us a stake in Britain's future

In 31 out of the top 50 marginal seats in the country, the number of black voters dwarfs the majority that the MP holds, highlighting the crucial and decisive role of ethnic minority voters

Initiatives such as Grime4Corbyn have encouraged young, black voters to get involved in the general election (Jeremy Corbyn/Twitter)

Unemployment among black 16-24 year olds currently sits at 30 per cent, well over double the rate for their white counterparts. In-work poverty is significantly higher in black households and the harsh effects of Tory austerity, including stagnation of wages, cuts to vital services and attacks on worker’s rights, have been most keenly felt by those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds (BME), especially black women. The prospect of five more years of Tory rule is unspeakably bleak for black communities in Britain.

For decades, the BME vote has been in decline with large-scale disillusionment. As voters we felt that the political sphere had nothing to mitigate our daily realities and provided no hope of meaningful action or change. However, the egalitarian, socialist manifesto put forward by Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party, has reinvigorated many of the left behind.

The Labour Party has committed to ending austerity, scrapping tuition fees, zero hour contracts and the public sector pay cap. It will invest in the economy to end the stagnation that is overwhelmingly failing black workers. The party is promising to create new jobs and pledges a £10 minimum wage for all by 2020, as well as taking a tougher line against discrimination in employment, notably by pledging to end the pay gap between black and white workers.

Powered by the most diverse Shadow Cabinet in British history and with a record 58 candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds standing for Parliament, Labour has also declared that it will implement the Parker Review, which seeks to establish greater black representation on the boards of the UK’s largest companies. It will also review the controversial “Prevent” programme that has perpetuated state-sponsored institutional racism. Jeremy Corbyn himself has a strong history of anti-war and anti-racism campaigning that presents an opportunity for the Labour Party to move forward from its problematic foreign policy legacies that alienated much of Labour’s BME supporters in particular.

Despite the Conservative Party’s push to increase ethnic minority representation during the last General Election, Theresa May has done little to advance black representation in government. There is not a single Black MP in her cabinet. Andrew Lansley, former Conservative Health Secretary, has accused his party of “endemic racism” and there’s a dossier of racist remarks and hate speech by Conservative politicians, many of which went entirely without censure.

In the wake of soaring post-Brexit racism and hate crimes, Theresa May has done nothing to stop the rising tide of bigotry and abuse. In fact, her oppressive state-sponsored surveillance laws under the guise of counter-terrorism, her aggressive foreign policy, and her dog-whistle immigration policies that saw 48,000 students illegally deported last year alone, exacerbate the increasing stigmatisation and isolation of ethnic minorities in Britain.

Faced with the stark contrast between the prospect of a further five years of devastating Tory rule and the tangible positive vision that Jeremy Corbyn is proposing for Britain’s future, over two million overwhelmingly young people signed up to vote in the few weeks between the general election being called and the deadline to register last week. This was spurred on by initiatives such as #Grime4Corbyn which saw artists such as JME reach out to potential black voters to encourage them to make their voices heard in this vital election.

This was an incredibly important initiative as the BME vote could make all the difference come 8 June. A recent survey by Operation Black Vote showed that in 31 out of the top 50 marginal seats in the country, the number of black voters dwarfs the majority that the MP holds, highlighting the crucial and decisive role of ethnic minority voters.

For too long, politicians from across the spectrum have got away with targeting old, white people who will turn out to vote them back into power. For the first time in a generation, we are faced with a real choice at the ballot box and every vote counts. Statistics show that if only the under-40s voted, Labour would win and, with the most recent polls showing only a five point difference between the two major parties, this election offers a unique opportunity to make our voices heard.

Whatever the result we wake up to on 9 June, it is imperative that black people turn out to cast our votes – only then can we stake our claim in the political future of this country, combat Tory destruction of our services and society, and build the radical, progressive, anti-racist society Britain desperately needs.