A new initiative is encouraging black and ethnic minority voters to make their voice heard at the General Election.

The national poster campaign has been launched by Operation Black Vote (OBV) to get more people from diverse backgrounds voting and involved in politics.

OBV is an organisation dedicated to enabling the African British and Asian British communities to claim their place in the British political scene.

A poster of former Arsenal and England defender Sol Campbell is being launched in the borough with the tagline “If you don’t vote, you’re taking the colour out of Haringey.”

The campaign sees celebrities turn their skin colour white to demonstrate that if the black and minority ethnic (BME) community does not vote they are removing the colour and diversity from Britain.

Research by OBV found that there are 168 constituencies in both urban and suburban areas where BME voters outnumber the majority held by the sitting MP, demonstrating the potential influence of the BME electorate.

Director of OBV Simon Woolley said: “The goal is clear, to encourage Black and minority ethnic communities to register to vote and vote in the 2015 General Election in the largest numbers ever.

“For example in Hornsey & Wood Green the BME electorate of 26406 is larger than the majority by which the seat was won, 6875.

“The BME electorate could influence an even greater number of seats if, as predicted, the election contest becomes ever tighter.”