Black History Month 2025: Beyond Westminster - the Role of Black Voices in Local Politics and Community Activism  

Keisha Bullock-Singh, Junior Consultant 
31/10/2025

While the spotlight often shines on Westminster as the centre of politics in the UK, the story of Black political influence in Britain begins – and continues – in the UK’s town halls, community centres and street-level campaigns. Black Britons have long driven change from the ground up, including through local activism and community representation, raising issues that directly affect daily life, such as housing, policing and education. 

As we near the end of Black History Month, a time to reflect on and celebrate the impact of those from African and Caribbean descent, Atticus explores the significant impact of the Black community on local politics and reflects on representation in civic leadership.  

Early Trailblazers: Before Windrush 

In 1913 John Archer was elected Mayor of Battersea – the first Black Mayor of a borough of London. Seen as controversial at the time, with a newspaper report stating, “It is not meet that the white man should be governed and controlled by a man of colour”, Archer’s election marked a turning point for Black representation in local politics. 

Despite facing fierce hostility following his election, Archer was not deterred and was re-elected to Battersea council in 1919, along with being elected as the first president of the Africa Progress Union – an organisation committed to representing African ideas in liberal education. 

Archer further sought to progress representation in British politics and in 1922 gave up his seat on the council to act as Shapurji Saklatvala’s election agent in that year’s General Election. With Archer’s support, Saklatvala – an anti-colonialist politician born in Bombay – became the first MP of colour to be elected in the history of the Labour Party and one of the first Indian MPs in Britain. 

The Windrush Era and Political Awakening 

Between the 1950s and 1980s, as Black communities established themselves in Britain, new forms of political engagement emerged. With many Black communities becoming politicised after the 1958 Notting Hill and Nottingham race riots, organisations such as the Campaign Against Racial Discrimination (CARD) merged activism with political advocacy. 

Founded in 1964, CARD lobbied for race relations legislation and played an instrumental role in the evolution of the 1965 Race Relations Act. The 1965 Race Relations Act was the first piece of legislation in the UK aimed at addressing racial discrimination and outlawed prejudice on the “grounds of colour, race, or ethnic or national origins”. 

CARD, inspired by the actions of civil rights organisations in the US, led on several amendments to the original Race Relations Bill including fighting for the introduction of a Race Relation Board and regional committees where victims of discrimination could take their complaints, instead of relying on the punitive measures originally in the legislation. 

However, despite the intention of the Race Relations Act, it failed to target inequality of treatment in areas that significantly affected daily life, such as in housing and employment. This resulted in key organisations in the British anti-racism movement, including CARD, advocating for stronger anti-discrimination laws that addressed systemic inequalities in areas beyond public gathering spaces. 

Ultimately actions by these community groups led to the updated Race Relations Act 1968 – a piece of legislation focused on eradicating discrimination in housing and employment and ensuring second-generation immigrants would get “the jobs for which they are qualified and the houses they can afford”. 

The Rise of Black Mayors and City Leaders

Whilst the late 20th century saw an increasing diversification of the UK’s local councils, with local authorities being the first political institutions to reflect Britain’s growing diversity, over the past 25 years there has been a growing visibility of Black leadership in the UK’s cities. 

Marvin Rees is a Labour politician who served as the Mayor of Bristol between 2016 and 2024 – the first directly elected Black city mayor in Europe. Alongside this being a significant symbolic event, Rees’ victory was seen as also being structurally important due to Bristol, a city historically tied to the transatlantic slave trade, having never before seen a Black person in its highest office. 

Rees’ tenure overlapped with a tumultuous period in race relations in Bristol, following the toppling of the Edward Colston statue during a Black Lives Matter protest in June 2020. Commenting on the significance of the event, Rees highlighted how it became a “lightening rod” for many issues and frustrations at a local, national and international level and called for “constructive conversation” about Bristol’s future. This included asking city historians to produce a study of all the local memorials and places linked to the slave trade to inform ongoing discussions about commemoration and memorialisation in Bristol. 

In addition to highlighting how local politics intersects with global movements, the toppling of the Colston statue revealed how local leaders of colour are often at the frontline of navigating tensions between activism, governance and media scrutiny, but are also offered the opportunity to deliver change in a way that holds both professional and personal significance.  

Rethinking what Political Power means 

As the UK celebrates Black History Month 2025, it is vital to look beyond Westminster to the communities where change begins. Across the country, Black leaders, councillors and activists are reshaping local politics and as such building fairer schools, safer streets and stronger neighbourhoods. Their work – and the local, grassroots activity led by Black campaigners from across the years – proves that representation is not just about Parliament, but about power shared and voices heard.