Getting Into Local Power: The Politics of Ethnic Minorities in British and French Cities

Romain Garbaye presents a comparison of the politics of ethnic minorities in British and French cities, with a focus on the election of city councillors in Birmingham, Lille and Roubaix between 1980 and 2001. It shows that, while the Labour-run Birmingham City Council has co-opted a significant number of councillors of African-Caribbean and Asian background, the population of North African origins in Lille has obtained little or no representation. Roubaix represents an intermediate case, with the number of ethnic minority councillors increasing through the 1990s.

The book considers styles of political mobilization of ethnic minorities in the context of urban political systems, as well as the strategies used by party leaders to manage ethnic diversity in political competition. It analyses how ethnic and cultural diversity in urban societies translates into conflictual politics.