THE LABOUR Party has announced ‘plans’ for a new Race Equality Act. It includes a number of measures such as plans to include following a raft of criticism from campaigners and experts who recently questioned the party’s commitment and loyalty to the Black community.
After an almost four-year wait for the finer points of the act, first announced in 2020, Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary Anneliese Dodds MP is due to release the long-awaited details on Monday.
Plans to enshrine equal pay for Black and minority communities under the law, ensuring companies publish data on ethnicity pay gaps, tackling disparities in the use of police powers, and within health outcomes are among the key planks set to be outlined by Dodds.
The last few years have seen health and economic inequalities exacerbate for Black communities, particularly in the wake of the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Anneliese Dodds speaking about the Race Equality Act said: “Inequality has soared under the Conservatives and too many Black, Asian and ethnic minority families are working harder and harder for less and less. This is holding back their families and holding back the economy.
“Everyone in this country deserves a government that matches their ambition. Labour knows that equality and growth are two sides of the same coin. We are proud of our achievements in government, from the landmark Equality Act to strengthening protections against discrimination.
“The next Labour Government will go further to ensure no matter where you live in the UK, and whatever your background, you can thrive.
“The evidence is clear: you can’t deliver sustained economic growth unless you include everyone. As the party of equality, only Labour has a plan to build a better, fairer future for the entire country.”
Inequality
Critics however remain sceptical of Labour’s commitment to follow through, while arguing the planned legislation won’t go far enough to tackle the root causes of deeply entrenched inequality and racism.
Mish Rahman, members’ representative on Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), told The Voice: “While collecting data and tackling pay is important, there seems to be nothing in place to end the hostile environment or plans for an independent review into hate crime, far-right extremism and how to tackle it.
“My concern has been that I do not believe that the Labour Party understands the real life practical impacts of race discrimination and inequality.
“When tackling and enhancing the Race Equality Act you have to have a strong focus on anti-racist education which includes the understanding and teaching of Britain’s colonial history. Only then will we be able to understand the injustices and racism in society.”
Rahman further added that “there is a glaring absence of understanding the causes of racism, not just the impact, while Labour shows off its patriotism, flags and Union Jack branding.”
Lawyer Jacqueline Mckenzie, known for her work in supporting those affected by the continuing Windrush scandal, and who sits on the task force alongside chair, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, said the Act was a step in the right direction but noted a clear lack of substance around immigration.
“I am concerned to see, despite there being major discussions and a stakeholder forum on immigration attended by about 50 experts, the word does not appear once in the initial documentation.
“Hundreds of people gave their time and expertise to develop this legislation, so it must be informed by the substantial evidence it collected over the past two years.
“And, though the reversal of Braverman’s axing of some of the recommendations in Wendy Williams Windrush Lessons Learned Review is welcomed, plans for a Windrush Commissioner rather than a Migrants Commissioner don’t go far enough.
“There are many issues, including young people facing deportation, the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees and of course, the Windrush victims, that Labour must address. Williams’ idea for a Migrants Commissioner was so that all migrants would be treated with respect and dignity, thereby reducing the risk of further scandals and mistreatment.
“We need more details and not least, what the enforcement mechanisms will be and what penalties might apply for breaches, so that we can assess how the Act will deliver on the stated aims.”
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The reason Labour, Liberal-Democrats, and Green political parties prefer seeing injustices as an “inequality issues,” is because removing the word racism, allows the Left-wing parties to concentrate and prioritise, gender issues, homosexual issues, feminist issues, and issues of concern to ethnic people of Caucasian Jewish heritage; above the skin-colour discrimination endured by His Majesty’s African-heritage Subjects.
Sir Kier Starmer’s reclassifying of skin-colour discrimination, and marginalisation, endured by African-skinned people in today’s England’s, into an “equalities issues,” weakens Labour, and the political left’s specific response to skin-colour discrimination, endured by England’s African-skinned men, women, and youth.
Sir Keir Starmer’s new Race Equality Act proposal, is merely intended to deceived and beguile African, and African-Caribbean people into giving Labour our vote at the approaching general election.
England’s African-heritage Labour voters are shockingly unsophisticated, and easily tricked into giving Labour our votes, because of these politically empty promises; which are regularly rolled-out by Labour, near general elections.
If Sir Tony Blair’s Labour Party, with the happy assistance of Caribbean-heritage Sir Trever Phillips, had not united in abolishing the Commission for Racial Equality, (CRE) and the regional Racial Equality Councils in 2006, then His Majesty’s African, and African-Caribbean heritage Subjects, would not be dangerously bereft of statutory agency; as we are today in 2024.
The CRE was effective, and offered great assistance to His Majesty African-skinned men, women, whilst also offering jobs, training, and voluntary experience.
I benefited from volunteering at Bath’s Racial Equality Council.
I joined the massive African, and African-Caribbean protest, asking; and indeed, pleaded with Sir Trevor Phillips, to oppose Sir Tony Blair’s plan to abolish the CRE.
As is usual for African-skinned men, and women given public office, and with a public profile, Sir Trevor Phillips sided with Sir Tony Blair.
The CRE was abolished in 2006.
The replacement organisation, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), had sacked all its senior Executives of African-heritage by 2018; whilst the EHRC concentrated on issues of concern to the homosexual political lobby Stonewall, and persecuting Jeremy Corbin’s Labour Party: as the Labour Party had been accused of discrimination against Caucasian-Jewish political concerns, and political narrative.
African-skinned men, women, and youth in England today, enjoy no statutory protection.
All African-skinned people ought to be terrified, and outraged at this reality in England today.
The skin-colour exclusion and discrimination endured by African-skinned men and women must not be reduced by Sir Kier Starmer’s Labour Party, into a Left-wing “equality issue.”
For the past 500 years, African skinned people have not been considered politically, historically, theologically, culturally, and intellectually equal with Caucasian-heritage men and women.
Sir Kier Starmer believes “inequality” is the main issue.
The main injustice for England’s African-skinned people in 2024, remains skin-colour discrimination: and the absence of a specific statutory funded organisation, such as the former CRE, along with Labour’s nihilistic, and anti-business Marxist policies, which hurt African-skinned people, and the economy of His Majesty Constitutional Monarchy.