Named for a moment. Built for what it promised.
WHO WE ARE
In June 1987, four Black MPs walked into the House of Commons for the first time — Diane Abbott, Bernie Grant, Paul Boateng and Keith Vaz. It was the first time in the history of British democracy that the Commons began to look, even a little, like the country it governs.
That was the moment. This is the work that follows it.
The 1987 Committee is Britain's independent forum for race, representation and power in public life. We are a member-led organisation that exists for a single purpose: to close the gap between how Britain looks and who holds its power — in Parliament, the judiciary, the civil service, the media and the boardroom.
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We speak with authority because we have done the work. Our members have served, or currently serve, in public office as councillors, elected representatives and appointed officials. We know how power is won, how it is used, and where the doors close. That experience shapes everything we do.
That gap is not a matter of opinion. It is measurable, it is documented, and it is ours to close.
What we believe
Representation does not happen by accident. It happens when the barriers are named, the evidence is undeniable, and the next generation is ready to step forward. Progress that is left to chance goes backwards. Every selection cycle either grows Black representation or quietly loses ground we cannot afford to lose.
So we refuse to leave it to chance.
How we work
We produce independent research that ministers, journalists and civil society actually use. We turn that evidence into argument, and argument into change submitting to inquiries, responding to consultations, and putting proposals in front of the people with the power to act on them. We engage directly with politicians and civic leaders, holding them to account and working with them where it counts. We train the next generation of Black political leaders, from grassroots organising to elected office. And we convene the people who hold power alongside the communities too often shut out of it on the record, documented, reaching audiences that matter.
Independent. Evidence-led. Built on the legacy of 1987.
Why now
The ground is shifting. Britain's political map is being redrawn, and with it the pathways into power. Moments like this decide whether the story of 1987 becomes the rule or stays the exception.
The four who arrived in 1987 changed what was possible. We exist to finish what they began.