The Sikh Federation (UK) has revealed that two days before the General Election and at a special "Question Time" in central London organised by Operation Black Vote representatives of the Federation asked each of the main political parties represented to make a public commitment to the separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs for the purposes of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act. In the question it was made clear that Sikhs were simply asking for fair treatment and for Government to recognise the legal backing Sikhs have had since the 1983 Mandla v Lee case in the House of Lords. The special "Question Time" chaired by the Commission for Race Equality Chair, Trevor Philips provided an ideal opportunity to raise this issue before the General Election. The panel of politicians comprised the Home Secretary, Charles Clarke MP, Dominic Grieve MP, the Conservative Shadow Home Office Minister, Ed Davey MP, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for local government and Jean Lambert a Green MEP from London. Ed Davey MP referred to the Early Day Motions in Parliament that he and many other MPs from across the political spectrum had signed. Around 200 MPs signed the EDMs or wrote to the Government in support of Sikhs on this issue. Dominic Grieve MP repeated the Conservative Party's public commitment to fully support the separate recognition and monitoring of Sikhs. As an MEP Jean Lambert was less familiar with the issue, but commented that Sikhs were the most distinct ethnic minority and she could not understand why Sikhs were not being treated fairly. The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke MP, who has just been reappointed following the Cabinet reshuffle agreed with the Sikh Federation (UK) on the importance of the introduction of the Race Relations (Amendment) Act in the last four years. He also agreed it was important to monitor distinct ethnic groups, such as Sikhs and gave a public commitment to have a dialogue with the Sikh community and resolve the issue that had been raised. The audience for the Operation Black Vote event was dominated by members of the black and afro-Caribbean community. Many of the questions concerning issues such as immigration, slavery, deaths in police custody, stop and search etc. were made very forcibly. Despite the request from Trevor Philips many of the questioners often resorted to mini-speeches and disrupted responses from the panel. In short the Sikh representatives present put themselves across extremely professionally unlike many others who were ill-disciplined. The politicians would have left with many impressions, not least that the Sikh community has representatives they can do business with.

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