Chaos at the top of the Tory government delayed plans to tackle Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination in its ranks, an independent reviewer has said.
Professor Swaran Singh said the repeated Conservative leadership changes affected the party’s ability to undertake the reforms he called for in his original inquiry into the issue.
The former equality and human rights commissioner’s review, published on Monday, found the implementation of some of his recommendations has been “slow”.
His original inquiry was established by the party following a series of allegations about Islamophobic behaviour among Conservatives.
It found Mr Johnson describing women wearing burkas as looking like “letterboxes” and “bank robbers” gave the impression the Tories were “insensitive to Muslim communities”.
The latest review found training at a local level is “mixed”, and the large amount of documentation in response to the investigation has not necessarily improved “awareness or action on the ground”.
No formal process has been put in place to handle complaints of discriminatory behaviour involving the party’s most senior members, the review found.
Individuals coming forward with allegations were also said to need better care.
“Politics is a rough business, but there is no reason why the complaints process should be indifferent or abrasive to the experience of individuals involved,” the report said.
The churn at the top of the Tories was said to have had an “unavoidable impact on the day-to-day running” of the party.
Professor Singh said: “It just took forever for them to focus on this.”
Since he completed the original report in May 2021, Boris Johnson was forced out as prime minister, as was his immediate successor Liz Truss, ushering in Rishi Sunak as prime minister.
‘The two years since the publication of the report have seen considerable political upheaval in the UK,’ Professor Singh said
In the report, Professor Singh wrote: “The two years since the publication of the report have seen considerable political upheaval in the UK.
“In that time, the Conservative Party has had three leaders and seven chairs.
“This turmoil has impacted on the party’s efforts to implement our recommendations.
“Change took longer than expected, and challenges resulting from the interdependencies between recommendations contributed to delays in implementation.”
Professor Singh said it has “taken much longer than we expected” to implement reforms.
He cited the “biggest problem” as being tackling issues at the local party level but welcomed fresh action from Tory HQ as he undertook his review.
In one case detailed in the review, a complainant was further distressed by no sanction being completed nearly a year after the judgement – and the offending continued “undeterred”.
“No apology has been offered to the complainant, or demanded of the respondents, despite the panel imposing other sanctions,” the review said.
But the team welcomed the “wholehearted acceptance” by the party that it must implement the recommendations.
Professor Singh’s update showed there had been 212 complaints relating to 137 incidents in the three months up to June 2022.
Five complaints were categorised as bullying or intimidation, three cited sexual assault, two referred to criminal activity and one was about a member writing on an “alt-right” website.
Professor Singh issued a range of fresh recommendations, including reviewing whether complaints against the most senior members should be handled independently.
Tory Party chairman Greg Hands said there is ‘work to be done’ on tackling Islamophobia
Conservative chairman Greg Hands MP said: “The party has made significant progress on Professor Singh’s recommendations with 25 complete and just six ongoing.
“There is however still work to be done and this is a process of continual improvement.”
