The example of history-making mayor of Derry and Strabane Lilian Seenoi Barr – the first black mayor in the North – was hailed at Westminster this week as MPs discussed increasing representation of black and minority ethnic representatives at Stormont.
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00:00I recently met Lillian Senoy Barr, who is the first mayor in Northern Ireland from an ethnic minority background,
00:06who is showing the way for others.
00:08I agree that people must see their representation,
00:12and so I would also join him in urging all the parties across Northern Ireland
00:18to look at their selection processes, their invitations to meetings,
00:22and make sure that all the parties are welcome to everyone from every background.
00:27Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
00:29Mr. Speaker, Jay Basra is a 20-year-old Ulster Unionist candidate
00:34who ran in mid-Ulster at the last general election.
00:38Jay describes himself as Punjabi-British.
00:41When he announced his candidacy, he received a torrent of online abuse,
00:47which he described as being dehumanising and abhorrent.
00:53What he actually said was,
00:54it reduces me down to my skin colour rather than myself as a person.
00:59But he has also said,
01:00Mr. Speaker, if anything, I'm even more determined to run again
01:03and increase the Ulster Unionist vote, like he did in the general election.
01:08What words of encouragement does the Secretary of State have for people like Jay?
01:12I'm horrified to hear of that online abuse,
01:15and I'm horrified to hear of any abuse that any politicians receive.
01:18And I commend him for his courage in saying,
01:21actually, this is not putting me off, I want to stand again.
01:24The hon. Member is quite right to raise this, as we all would want to do,
01:28and show support for him and for others who want to be able to say
01:33that they would be able to stand and not receive that abuse.
01:36And we should call it out whenever we see it.