The shadow justice secretary David Lammy has branded the government’s race report an “insult”, with campaigners condemning its suggestion that Britain is not an institutionally racist country.
The Labour MP accused Boris Johnson of ignoring the wishes of British people who “are dying to turn the page on racism”.
“Boris Johnson has just slammed the door in their faces by telling them that they’re idealists, they are wasting their time. He has let an entire generation of young white and black British people down,” he added.
Shadow equalities minister Marsha De Cordova also hit out at the report, saying the government must explain why a passage “which glorifies the slave trade” was published.
Commissioned in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests last year, the report, which was published on Wednesday, says the UK has become a “more open society”.
While admitting that racism persists, its sees the UK “as a model for other white-majority countries” regarding race equality in education and the workplace.
Halima Begum, the chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, a leading race equality think-tank, is among those who disagree with the commission’s conclusions.
“Institutionally, we are still racist, and for a government-appointed commission to look into (institutional) racism, to deny its existence is deeply, deeply worrying,” she said.
Report condemned as ‘divisive polemic’
As mentioned earlier, the shadow equalities secretary Marsha de Codova has lambasted the race report, calling it a “divisive polemic”.
Nadine White and Ashley Cowburn have a round-up of this and other reactions:
Government must not use report as excuse for ‘shameful inaction’, say Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats have urged the government not to hide behind the report, encouraging it to tackle racial injustice instead.
Wera Hobhouse, the party’s equalities spokesperson, said many peoples lives in the UK are “blighted by discrimination, inequality and injustice” but that the government is guilty of “shameful inaction” on the issue.
To address this, she called on ministers to develop a “proper race equality strategy”.
Tony Blair’s ‘uncritical embrace’ of globalisation damaged UK communities, says Nandy
Tony Blair’s approach to globalisation and capitalism cost Labour votes and damaged communities, a top member of Keir Starmer’s team has said.
In a speech on Wednesday shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said places like her constituency of Wigan had been “stripped of their vitality, their purpose, their inheritance” by free markets.
And she promised a new approach from Labour that would include “a rejection of the uncritical embrace of economic globalisation” and protect workers from unfair competition abroad.
Government must acknowledge existence of systemic racism, says teaching union boss
The general secretary of the UK’s largest teaching union has hit out at the race report, saying that “structural racism continues to blight and scar our country and our economy”.
Dr Patrick Roach said that black communities “have been systematically failed” by the government and that “racism is real and it is systemic”.
“Unless and until the government accepts the facts of systemic racism, it will continue to fail Black workers and communities, and further deepen the scar of racial injustice in our country,” he added.
Race review ‘glorifies slave trade’, says shadow equalities secretary
Shadow women and equalities secretary Marsha de Cordova has called the race report a “divisive polemic” which ignores the reality of institutional racism and “cherry-picks statistics”.
The Labour MP called the review an “insult” to black, Asian and ethnic minority people, groups which have been disproportionatelty affected by the pandemic.
Ms de Cordova also said government “must disassociate themselves” from one passage in the report, which she alleged “glorifies the slave trade”.
Race report: The key findings
Shaun Lintern and Tom Batchelor take a look at the race report’s key findings, including its recommendations on education, health and policing.
Independent Scotland could wait 10 years to join EU, warns think-tank
An independent Scotland would have to wait up to 10 years to join the EU, a think-tank has warned.
In a new report, the non-partisan Institute for Government (IfG) said a hard border with England would be inevitable if Scotland joined the bloc.
It added that the country would also most likely have to adopt the Euro.
Bearing these matters in mind, the report’s authors said the Scottish government should be“open” about the “costs as well as benefits” of EU membership.
Scottish party leaders clash over independence
Scottish party leaders clashed over the possibility of a second independence referendum in a heated debate on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of elections in May, Nicola Sturgeon, the country’s first minister, promised she would be an “experienced hand at the wheel” if elected and her SNP party would introduce “bold policies to drive our recovery”.
She added that people should have the choice of independence once the pandemic is over.
While the Scottish Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties disapproved of this, the Scottish Green Party expressed support for a referendum during the next parliament.
Who are the authors of the government’s race report?
The race report published today has already sparked much public debate. But who wrote it?
Adam Forrest has the details:
Ministers must not use report as excuse for ‘shameful inaction’, say Lib Dems
The Liberal Democrats have said that the government should not hide behind the report, treating it as an excuse for its “shameful inaction” on racial injustice.
Wera Hobhouse, the party’s equalities spokesperson, said people’s lives in the UK and overseas are “blighted by discrimination, inequality and injustice”.
As a result, she demanded that Downing Street develop a “proper race equality strategy”.
