A LABOUR leadership hopeful says he fears he is struggling to get support from colleagues because he is black.
Clive Lewis is well short of the 22 nominations he needs from MPs and MEPs to stay in the race beyond Monday.
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He said “structural racism is a reality of our society” and said the Parliamentary Labour party “isn’t immune from the same forces that affect everyone within our society”.
He was speaking at the launch of his leadership campaign in Brixton, South London.
Mr Lewis, the shadow economics minister, used the event to call for a referendum on the future of the Royal Family.
The shadow treasury minister said: “We are a democracy. I’d rather see us as citizens than subjects in the 21st Century.”
Mr Lewis called for the Royal Family referendum as part of a package of sweeping constitutional reforms, including replacing the current first past the post electoral system with proportional representation.
The shadow minister also said that Labour must “modernise or die”.
Mr Lewis said: “We can’t have more of the same. The Labour Party needs to modernise or it will die.
“I’m fed up with the top-down style of politics, where real debate and discussion in our party is stifled because of sectarianism and tribalism.
“We can’t grow as a party if we’re afraid of having difficult discussions.
“I’m standing because I see a party in crisis and democracy in crisis, and unless we start addressing some fundamental issues, a few tweaks of policy here, or a slight change of leader there, aren’t going to bring the real change that this country urgently needs.”
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