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I entered Parliament 30 years ago among the first black MPs to sit there. Too little has changed
Shadow home secretary DIANE ABBOTT says the way immigrants are demonised today is little different from the cruel era of Thatcher

IT IS 30 years since myself, Paul Boateng, Keith Vaz and the late Bernie Grant became the first black MPs in Parliament.

This was a historic breakthrough for black representation, for the black communities in Britain, and a moment of pride for the Labour Party.

The 1980s were a tumultuous time, with Thatcher and the Conservatives as emboldened as ever. The presence of black MPs in Parliament was provocative to the status quo as much as we were pioneering.

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