Senior Labour MP Keith Vaz has called for a change in the law to allow all-ethnic minority shortlists for parliamentary seats.

The Leicester East MP introduced a 10-minute rule motion in the Commons on Wednesday which would amend the law to make the positive discrimination permissible.

Vaz was one of four Labour ethnic minority MPs elected in 1987 but said progress on improving representation since then had been "painfully slow", with a total of only 15 from all parties in Parliament now.

"The creation of ethnic-minority shortlists will undoubtedly see more ethnic minorities taking up seats in Parliament, which will mean a Parliament that mirrors the society it represents," he argued.

His Race Relations (Election Candidates) Bill would be a voluntary measure for parties to adopt in some seats but would remove legal obstacles surrounding the discrimination, as Labour had to do when its all-women shortlists were found to be illegal.

"This Bill is a wake-up call for all our political parties," Vaz said. "We have waited long enough. It is time for more action and less talk."

However Conservative MP Philip Davies took the unusual step of speaking against the motion, which has little chance of passing into law, describing the idea as "political correctness".

"Once we start electing people based on the colour of their skin then I think we've got a problem in our society," he said.