'A long way to go' What black voters think of Labour's first six months

In Toxteth, a fast-gentrifying area of Liverpool that has for decades been the nucleus of the city's 300-year-old Black community, Saeed Olayiwola considered how the Labour government compared with the Conservatives. "I don't see much that sets them apart at the moment," Olayiwola said.

- Chris Osuh Aamna Mohdin

Since Keir Starmer's government took power six months ago, voters in two urban constituencies, both represented by Black Labour MPs - Liverpool Riverside and Tottenham in north London - have been weighing up the party's decisions.

Areas such as these, with historic and large Black and minority ethnic communities, have long been loyal to the party. The last election was no exception: Labour enjoyed a bigger lead among minority ethnic voters than it did among white voters. Support from Black voters was strongest, at 68%, compared with 50% among mixed-race voters, 39% among Asian voters and 33% among white voters.

But research by the thinktank UK in a Changing Europe found that this support was an "ossified cultural and historical legacy" and that the party may not be able to rely on it. Labour's vote share in the July 2024 election fell by 20.3 points in Tottenham and by 23.2 points in Liverpool Riverside, denting the majorities of their MPs, David Lammy and Kim Johnson.

The proportion of very safe seats across the UK fell and the number of marginal ones rose.

Six months on, Black and minority ethnic voters in both constituencies are saying they feel taken for granted by Starmer's government. "I can't see a policy they have implemented so far that is any way left of centre," said Laurence Westgaph, a historian and broadcaster from Toxteth, at the heart of Liverpool Riverside.

He defected to the Greens in July, having previously seen himself as a "loyal Labour voter".

Some are optimistic. Roxanne Crawford, 40, was among the voters who gathered at Toxteth's John Archer Hall to debate the government's progress in November. Crawford said she had seen more job opportunities circulate since Labour came to power. "[Labour] has a long way to go, but I think they've started on a positive note," she said. "Out of all the governments we've ever had, Labour is the most non-racist."