Last week the charity Mosaic launched the first ever awards by a BME charity to highlight the work of MPs at the House of Commons. The MP of the Year Award will give the BME community the chance to reward MPs who have made a significant contribution to diversity issues.

MPs will be nominated and the awards will be decided by a distinguished panel of judges including Andrea Cooper, Director of UpRising, Simon Wooley, Director of Operation Black Vote and Neil Jameson, Director of Citizens UK.

I support this great initiative, its importance should not be underestimated. We must encourage greater participation in mainstream politics by the BME community, otherwise their voices will not be heard.

At the 2010 General Election there was a record 27 BME MPs elected to Parliament. From 0 to 27 in a generation. Yet more needs to be done to make Parliament truly representative of the people it serves. There are currently no ethnic minority Liberal Democrats and only 11 Conservative MPs out of 303 are BME, just 3.6%.

At the 2011 Census it was revealed that 14% of people in England and Wales are an ethnic minority and a remarkable 55% of people in London.

The BME community have moved from the margins to the mainstream. They will have the deciding vote in the next election.

Political parties and their representatives have to realise that in order to win the next election the needs and issues affecting the BME community must be on the agenda.

I hope that initiatives such as this one will further raise awareness of the specific issues that affect the BME community.

Rt. Hon Keith Vaz MP