“Blackburn is my soul…”
These aren’t my words but the words of Blackburn MP Jack Straw.
I interviewed the former Home Secretary at his office on Richmond Terrace on Friday 24th January 2014.
After succeeding Barbara Castle in 1979, at the age of 32, Jack Straw has kept his role as MP for an impressive 35 years but has now announced his retirement from politics.
Rather than focus on all the work Mr. Straw has done I felt I would focus on a matter close to my heart and to many fellow constituents of Blackburn; the matter of, segregation between the Whites and Asians in the town.
I am a Blackburn lad born and bred. In my 19 years in Blackburn I was aware that the town was segregated but I never knew that the ratio of Whites to Asians was larger. I thought it would have been equal or that there were more Asians.
I study in Preston and I spent five years at a boarding school in Liverpool so I haven’t spent much time in Blackburn but the shops I go to, the areas I spend time in, the people that I see are all Asians so to me it seemed that there were more Asians than Whites.
I wanted to find out from Mr. Straw what he feels he has done for the town in his 35 year reign and whether his constituents feel he has done a good job. I went into Blackburn Town Centre to do exactly that.
It was a wet and miserable day. Shoppers shopped minding their own business getting done what they needed to. This wasn’t good for me, a random Asian teenager approaching Asians and Whites asking them about their feelings of who they share their town with.
I asked the residents of the town:
What are your views on the matter of segregation in Blackburn between Asians and Whites and what do you think Jack Straw has done about it?
They probably thought I was mad asking about race in a time when people are afraid to say what they really feel as they’re scared of being labelled as a racist.
Gill, a 54 year old retired teacher, hesitantly told me that her parents grew up in the town and her grandchildren now also live in Blackburn. She paused, then said, talking about the Whites, ”It’s not our town anymore. We are getting pushed out slowly but surely. Jack Straw’s done nothing for us Whites, he’s only focused on listening to what them Asians have to say.” She stopped talking probably worried of what she’d just told me. I thanked her and she continued on into M&S.
On my way to Mr Straw’s office for the interview, I passed groups of students from Blackburn College, of which Mr. Straw is a governor. The students were either Asian or White, there was no mix. Even in the restaurant near Mr. Straw’s office, diners sat segregated by their ethnicity. There were only a few tables where there were Asians and Whites socialising and enjoying what looked to be a very tasty meal.
I went into this restaurant and asked the owner, Maqbool Patel, what he feels about segregation. In between food orders, he told me that he loves working at his restaurant; he gets to meet new people every day. But the segregation is clear to him, however he sees this changing because of Jack Straw’s work.
To my knowledge there isn’t a sense of hatred between the races but just a lack of willingness to integrate. Mr. Straw, who was a very calm, open interviewee, sat chewing a mint as I grilled him on his life as the Blackburn MP.
I interviewed Mr. Straw in the room known as the Barbara Castle meeting room. A small room occupied by an oak board room table and framed speeches and pictures of Barbara Castle and Mr. Straw.
From 1981 to 2013 there has been an increase of nearly 25,000 Asians in the town and the population of Whites has decreased.
I shared Gill’s feelings with Mr. Straw, he sat back in his chair and very openly told me that If your elected as MP, regardless of National duties, your constituency is the most important. You treat your constituents and their needs with respect. Your duty is to your constituency and its residents regardless of whether they are White or Asian.
I nodded feeling very taken aback by his answer. My respect for him grew a lot after he said this. He sat forward and continued on, I didn’t invite the Asians to Blackburn but as MP I have to work with all my constituents and do my best to make them happy. If the Asians didn’t come Blackburn would have had another issue of being depopulated.
In Mr. Straw’s defence he has worked very hard for the town not only on the matter of segregation but to help businesses and also the education side of the town. A scheme that Mr. Straw has openly supported is the Blackburn Youth Zone, a large orange coloured futuristic looking building that hosts many different activities aimed at 8 to 18 year olds to help create cohesion between the young Asians and Whites of the town.
Junaid Patel, a 20 year old ambassador for Blackburn Youth Zone, stood in his black ambassador hoody after giving a talk to some youngsters. He very pleasantly told me that Blackburn Youth Zone is a great scheme and it is about time something was done to tackle this issue of segregation. Aiming the scheme at the younger generation of the town is the best way. For the sake of the town and it’s future something needs to be done. He hopes Blackburn Youth Zone is the scheme to create cohesion and a better more loving and integrated town.
From my interview with Mr. Straw it became clear to me he is truly passionate about his town and when he says Blackburn is his soul he really means it.
