General Election 2015: Natalie Bennett admits the Green party has a problem over its lack of black and ethnic minority candidates

Just 4 per cent of Green candidates are from a black or ethnic minority background, which is even worse than Ukip's record

Sir Keir Starmer is expected to defeat Natalie Bennett in the rock-solid Labour seat of Holborn & St Pancras next month (AFP/Getty) (JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP/Getty Images)

The lack of black and ethnic minority candidates in the Green party is a problem that needs fixing, Natalie Bennett has admitted.

In an interview with The Independent, the leader of the Greens said the fact that the party has the worst record on diversity among its list of candidates standing at the General Election is “disappointing”.

Only 4 per cent of Green candidates are from minority communities, according to a study by University College London – the lowest proportion of all the other major party, including Ukip. This is embarrassing compared to the 17 per cent of the whole population who identify as BME.

She pointed out the party’s better record on gender balance – four in ten of their candidates are female – and said the party will use the same measures it used to promote gender equality in the party to improve its BME record.

Natalie Bennett is interviewed by The Independent's Matt Dathan

The party’s poor record over selecting candidates comes despite having a raft of policies in its manifesto pledging to introduce ethnic diversity quotas in public sector jobs and participation in sports.

“I would agree that our percentage of BME candidates is disappointing and it’s something we very much want to focus on,” she said.

White candidates make up 96 per cent of Green candidates. The proportion of candidates with BME backgrounds for the other parties was 11 per cent for the Conservatives, was 9 per cent for Labour and 10 per cent for the Liberal Democrats.

Even Nigel Farage’s Ukip fares better, with 6 per cent of its candidates coming from a BME background. This is despite Mr Farage’s comments earlier this year calling for the abolition of anti-discrimination laws.

However neither Ukip nor the Greens have selected a BME candidate for a winnable seat.

The lack of BME diversity in the Greens comes despite the party’s manifesto pledges to set targets for participation in sports by ethnic minorities, the introduction of anonymised CVs to ensure BME candidates are not excluded before the interview stage because of their identity and a call for the public sector to do more to employ BME staff.

---

The Independent has got together with May2015.com to produce a poll of polls that produces the most up-to-date data in as close to real time as is possible.

Click the buttons below to explore how the main parties' fortunes have changed:

All data, polls and graphics are courtesy of May2015.com. Click through for daily analysis, in-depth features and all the data you need. (All historical data used is provided by UK Polling Report)