Deracialised inclusion

When Thomas Saalfeld co-edited the volume on political representation of immigrants and ethnic minorities in 2013, significant under-representation was nearly universal. Since then, the representation of ethnic minorities in many countries has risen exponentially, and notably, minority politicians have become frequently elected by non-minority voters. Using the UK as a case study, I ask, Can politicians elected in this way still be considered descriptive representatives? Examining voter perceptions of Rishi Sunak at the 2024 British general election, I argue that we should turn to the concept of symbolic representation to conceptualise the new meaning for ethnic and racial minority representatives who were not elected based on their descriptive characteristics. Considering ethnic minority groups as an audience rather than as principals in the representative relationship can help expand our understanding of the descriptive representation of ethnic minorities.