Ethnic diversity in politics and public life

This briefing examines the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds occupying a range of public positions across the UK. Key points are summarised here; sources are referenced in the body of the paper.

In 2024/25, about 16% of the UK population was from a minority ethnic background. In 2021, the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in the four parts of the UK ranged from 3% in Northern Ireland to 19% in England.

The proportion of people from a minority ethnic background in the UK as a whole has risen in recent years, and so has the representation of minority ethnic groups in political office and public service.

However, in most cases the proportion of people from minority ethnic backgrounds in such positions is lower than in the population as a whole, and often markedly so. The exceptions are in the NHS and the social work sector.

The term “minority ethnic” here refers to all people who do not identify with the “White” ethnic group in Great Britain. “Minority ethnic” includes those in the “Irish Traveller” category except in Northern Ireland where this category is part of the “White” category. Section 1.1 has more details on ethnic categories.

UK Parliament

There is no official data on the number of MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds. It is estimated that following the 2024 General Election, 90 MPs (14%) were from minority ethnic backgrounds.

No MPs from minority ethnic groups were elected between 1929 and 1987. Four were elected in 1987 (Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng, Bernie Grant and Keith Vaz), and the number has increased at each general election since then – most notably from 2010 onwards – as the chart below shows. However, if the ethnic makeup of the House of Commons proportionally reflected the ethnic makeup of the whole UK population, there would be about 104 MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds.

Source: British Future (2019 – 2024), House of Commons Library Briefing, UK Election Statistics: 1918-2019

Of the 90 MPs from minority ethnic backgrounds, 66 represent the Labour Party and 15 represent the Conservative Party. There are five Liberal Democrat MPs from a minority ethnic background.

Over half (51) of the estimated 90 MPs who are from minority ethnic backgrounds are women.

Other elected bodies in the UK

As of the most recent elections for each body:

• in the Scottish Parliament, six (4.5%) of the 129 members were from minority ethnic backgrounds
• in the Senedd Cymru/Welsh Parliament, three (5%) of the 60 members were from minority ethnic backgrounds, including the first woman of colour elected to the Senedd since the start of devolution (in 1999)
• in the Northern Ireland Assembly, none of the 90 members were recorded as being from a minority ethnic group
• as well as the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, seven (28%) of the 25 members of the London Assembly were from minority ethnic backgrounds, compared with about 41% of London’s population

Minority ethnic representation in local government is lower than the corresponding population in all four parts of the UK. A 2019 audit by Operation Black Vote found that while councils in some local authorities closely reflected the local ethnic makeup, many others had no councillors from minority ethnic groups at all.

Public sector staff

Ethnic diversity among public sector staff varies noticeably across services and the four parts of the UK, although figures are often hard to compare. Two sectors stand out as having high numbers of staff from minority ethnic backgrounds, especially in England: the NHS and the social work sector.

NHS England

In NHS England, 32% of staff reported being from a minority ethnic background in 2025. 50% of doctors in NHS England were from minority ethnic backgrounds.

The proportion of staff from an Asian background was particularly high, at 33% of doctors and 18% of nurses.

Social workers in England

In September 2022, 24% of social workers in England were from minority ethnic backgrounds. The proportion of social workers from a Black background was particularly high at 13%, compared with 4% of the economically active population.

UK civil service and UK armed forces

The ethnic profile of the UK civil service and the UK army was similar to that of the wider economically active population. In most other public services, minority ethnic representation was significantly lower, although most have reported gradual improvements.

Fire and rescue services typically reported the lowest figures. Minority ethnic representation was as low as 0.2% in Northern Ireland, compared with 3% of the economically active population (the latest available data for the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue service is for 2019).

In the majority of cases where data is available, minority ethnic representation in the UK civil service and UK armed forces is often lower in the higher pay grades.