OP-ED: Forty years on, things are better -- but only just

Racism remains a serious problem in the UK despite the progress made
In 1981, I was a member of the Conservative Party. Well, we are all allowed to make a few youthful indiscretions, surely?

I was living then in Basildon, a large so-called “new town” in South Essex that had been built just after WWII to rehouse Londoners who had been bombed out of their homes during the Blitz. It was a nice place to live and I wanted to do something to support my community. 

I had some good friends who were members of the local Tory association and in the summer of 1977 they invited me to join. It was the most non- political organization that I have ever known. 

Most of the members were middle-aged, middle class individuals with a real sense of community spirit. The majority of our meetings consisted of drinking tea, arranging fetes, and fund-raising for local good causes. Current affairs or politics were rarely, if ever, discussed.