Britain 's first black prime minister will be a Conservative , David Cameron will claim today . In a bid to woo ethnic minority voters , Mr Cameron will say the Tories are the party of opportunity for people from all backgrounds who want to get on . He will also set out targets for ethnic minority recruitment designed to persuade voters the party is on their side . Scroll down for video . Mr Cameron will say the Conservative party will one day be the party of the first black or Asian prime minister . Highlighting Margaret Thatcher ’ s record as Britain ’ s first – and only – female prime minister , he will say : ‘ We ’ re the party of the first female prime minister . The party of the first Jewish prime minister . And I know that , one day , we ’ re going to be the party of the first black or Asian prime minister. ’ ‘ I want this to be an opportunity country , where no matter who you are or where you ’ re from ; whether you ’ re black , white , Asian or mixed race – whether you ’ re from the inner city or rural heartlands , you can make the most of your talents. ’ The claim will be seen as a tacit endorsement of the leadership ambitions of Culture Secretary Sajid Javid , the only current Asian Tory seen as a potential contender . It is designed to tackle the Tories ’ long-standing difficulty in attracting support from Britain ’ s growing ethnic minority electorate . The claim will be seen as a tacit endorsement of the leadership ambitions of Culture Secretary Sajid Javid ( pictured ) , the only current Asian Tory seen as a potential contender . A report by the Runnymede Trust think-tank last week warned that suspicion of the Tories among ethnic minority voters could cost the party nine seats at next month ’ s election and 50 within a decade . Some senior Tories believe Mr Cameron has done too little to address the party ’ s reputation among ethnic minority voters – and warn that the party could face similar problems to the US republicans unless it acts quickly . Mr Cameron will today pledge to ensure that , by the next election , at least 20 per cent of Tory candidates in seats where a Conservative MP is standing down will be from an ethnic minority background . The figure this year is 18 per cent . At the time of the last census in 2011 , 14 per cent of the UK population was identified as black or minority ethnic . But the Prime Minister will today set targets to achieve 20 per cent ethnic representation in the recruitment of police officers . The current figure is just 8.3 per cent . A 10 per cent target will also be set for the armed forces , to hit 20 per cent in the long term . At present the figure for recruits is 5.7 per cent . New targets will also be set to increase by 20 per cent the number of black and ethnic minority students going to university , being offered apprenticeships and getting jobs . Mr Cameron will say : ‘ Our mission is to make sure that as our economy recovers , people from every community share in that prosperity . ‘ But there are more specific things we can do to make sure we spread opportunity to every community . So I ’ m setting some ambitious but realistic aspirations for the next five years , specifically for the black and minority ethnic communities. ’ Boris Johnson has said Britain needs to train more crane drivers and IT experts to stop migrants filling jobs . The Mayor of London claimed the UK has too many hairdressers and not enough young people learning to do the jobs the economy needs . He said the country ’ s IT industry desperately needs computer programmers , while building sites need crane operators – and both are often forced to depend on foreign labour . Mr Johnson said colleges had to work more closely with businesses to teach teenagers the skills they need to land well-paid jobs , which would help to reduce the reliance on migrants . He said he did not want to ‘ tell talented foreigners to bog off ’ , but to ensure young people growing up in the UK were able to take the high-skilled jobs which have seen average wages start to rise . The Mayor , who is the Tory candidate for Uxbridge and South Ruislip , told MailOnline : ‘ Do we need more crane operators and fewer hairdressers ? I think the answer to that at the moment is yes . Do we need more people who can do coding for IT , the answer is absolutely yes . ‘ We have a desperate shortage of those sorts of skills ... we have got to up-skill the UK labour force . ’
Prime Minister says Jewish will be party of first black or Asian PM . Cameron points to party record of past female and Conservatives prime ministers . He will set out targets for ethnic minority recruitment in bid to woo voters .