Conservative party politics hits Shaun Bailey
In the months leading up to the 2010 British general election, few Conservative parliamentary candidates got more publicity than Shaun Bailey, who has Jamaican heritage. Every newspaper and magazine you opened seemed to feature him. He was heavily promoted as the face of the “new” Conservative party.
Bailey was undoubtedly invaluable to David Cameron in rebranding his party. But Bailey was contesting an inner-city seat with a large black electorate and he went on to lose in the election. Ordinary British black people were apparently not as impressed with him as the Conservative political hierarchy.
But in February of this year he was in Jamaica. Describing himself as a “special advisor” to British PM David Cameron on youth and crime matters, Bailey gave Jamaicans the benefit of his opinions on a range of issues. In particular he insisted that Jamaica should keep the Queen as its head of state.
But sadly, all is not going well with his career. It was revealed last week that he has been removed as “special advisor” to David Cameron. London’s Daily Telegraph reported the story as follows “The Daily Telegraph understands that Mr Bailey believes he was ignored for months by Mr Cameron’s inner circle before being moved to a ‘non-job’ outside the prime minister’s office in January.”
The report went on, “Mr Bailey, who was paid a salary of £60,000 to advise the prime minister on youth, crime and race issues, is the first insider to raise concerns about the elite backgrounds of those in the inner core of No. 10. His appointment after the 2010 general election was lauded as a sign of the inclusive nature of Mr Cameron’s office, a view which took on particular importance after the summer riots of 2011. However, in January he was moved quietly to the Cabinet Office, becoming the Government’s ‘youth and engagement champion’.
“His appointment to the new position was not publicly announced. Mr Bailey is being paid substantially less for this part-time role — £36,000 a year — and is only on a one-year contract. He does not have his own desk or office, but a source in the Cabinet Office insisted that if he needed a seat he would be ‘accommodated’. Last night, it was unclear what exactly Mr Bailey’s new role involves.”
The demotion is unfortunate news for Bailey. Persons who have spoken to him say he is very unhappy. In particular, having his salary slashed will be challenging for a man with a young family to support. Bailey himself has said nothing publicly about the matter. He still has hopes of being a Conservative MP and presumably thinks it is better not to go on the record with his unhappiness. But the Daily Telegraph is one of the UK’s leading newspapers and well connected in the Conservative Party. It is safe to assume that they would not have run the story as a front page “splash” if they had not spoken to Bailey or someone very close to him.
The story comes at a time when Cameron has been heavily criticised for having an inner circle of people from elite private schools, in particular his old school Eton. The Bailey issue fits into this narrative. Interestingly, commentators stress the fact that Bailey was not from an upper-class background, as much as they do the race angle.
And, to be fair to Cameron, there are black people working their way up the ladder in his party. They include MP Adam Afriyie. He is mixed race and from a humble background. However, he is also a self-made millionaire. Another black Conservative to watch is MP Kwasi Kwarteng. But he went to Cameron’s old school Eton and has a degree from Cambridge.
It seems that it was useful for Cameron to parade Bailey when he was trying to win the 2010 election. And now it is useful for Cameron’s enemies to use Bailey in their efforts to undermine the British PM. However, black voters in 2010 queried what an ordinary black man, without millions of pounds of income to defend, was doing in the Conservative party. They wondered if Bailey really understood the nature of the party that was then parading him around. After his recent demotion, Bailey will have plenty of time to contemplate whether ordinary black voters were right.
— Diane Abbott is a British Labour party MP and spokeswoman on public health
