Political participation and Black Lives Matter

Abstract

This chapter examines ethnic differences in levels of political and civic engagement, using data produced by the Evidence for National Equality Survey (EVENS). It begins with the following question: how much trust do people have in different levels of government in relation to pandemic management? In particular, it looks at interethnic differences in the levels of trust in the UK Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and local mayors. It then considers the levels of political interest across ethnic groups. Our findings suggest that people from most ethnic minority backgrounds tend to express more political trust and more political interest than people from a White British background. The chapter also compares patterns of political party preferences across ethnic groups and across England, Scotland and Wales. Finally, it gives an overview of the very strong level of support towards the Black Lives Matter movement, although the extent of this support varied across ethnic groups.