Hire full-time equality minister to tackle racism failures, campaigners urge Labour

The new Labour government should hire a full-time equalities minister as part of a strategy to tackle Britain’s failures on race, campaigners have urged.

The Alliance for Racial Justice, a coalition of leading race equality organisations, have called for equality laws to undergo major updates to tackle entrenched inequalities across Britain.

The collective’s new report , entitled A Better Way To Tackle Institutional Racism , carries a series of recommendations for the government to tackle the issue including a new and independent race equality regulatory body, more funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), plus a full-time equalities minister.

Currently, there are two equalities ministers: Bridget Phillipson and Annelise Dodds. Neither are from ethnic minority communities and their roles are only part-time as they also serve as education secretary and development minister respectively.

The part-time nature of the brief reflects the government’s lack of commitment to addressing institutional racism, the Alliance claimed.

The campaigners also argue that the Equality Act 2010 is “no longer fit for purpose” and is failing to safeguard against the spread of racism in the UK’s public bodies, partly due to a gap between the law’s vision and an inability for powers within the act to be implemented in practice.

Meka Beresford, head of policy at Action for Race Equality said: “Over the past 14 years, the government has relied on the existence of the Equality Act as a shield. As a network of campaigners passionate about ending race inequality, our discussions have made clear that this legislation, in its current form, is insufficient.

“We are calling for immediate action and stronger policies to protect our communities and dismantle institutional racism.

“The recent race riots in August underscore an urgent need for more robust legislation. Despite the unrest, the prime minister has refused to engage in policy discussions or acknowledge the underlying issues driving these actions.”

This comes as campaigners have expressed concerns that Labour’s previously touted plans for a Race Equality Act could be abandoned after the bill was renamed to focus on employment the Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.

The government has also been criticised over a perceived failure to prioritise justice for victims of the Windrush scandal or follow through on its pre-election pledge to “urgently reform the compensation scheme”.

Labour’s ‘Equality (Race and Disability) Bill’s initial documentation does not mention the word ‘Windrush’ once, according to Jacqueline McKenzie, a prominent human rights lawyer who sits on Labour’s race equality taskforce.

The Alliance for Racial Justice is urging the government to consult on and produce a Race Equality Act that seeks to dismantle institutional racism while ensuring the communities who bear the brunt of racism are consulted on this legislation.

Jabeer Butt OBE, chief executive of the Race Equality Foundation said: “While the Equality Act was a landmark piece of legislation at its time, it is no longer fit for purpose in 2024.

“To effectively challenge institutional racism in the public sector, the Labour Government must seriously consider adopting our recommendations.

“Our communities are already feeling betrayed after a summer of violence and unrest. Policy must go beyond the proposed pay gap reporting for ethnic minorities outlined in the Race and Disability Act.”

Race and racism have become the “elephant in the room” when it comes to institutions facing major public inquiries, the Alliance warns, pointing to the Grenfell and Covid enquiries as examples of this .

“Lawyers Alison Munroe KC and Thalia Maragh of Garden Court chambers worked on both the Grenfell and Covid inquiries and found it ‘incredibly hard’ to get the inquiries to consider the role of race,” the document reads.

“While the Covid Inquiry began to use the language of discrimination, it did not go further in examining the impact that racism had beyond one module of the inquiry.”

Member organisations of the Alliance for Racial Justice include Action for Race Equality, Race Equality Foundation, Black Equity Organisation, Operation Black Vote, Runnymede and the Traveller Movement.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “We are proud of the Equality Act and the rights and protections it affords individuals of all backgrounds.

“There is more to do to tackle racial inequality, so we are determined to deliver on our manifesto commitments and ensure people’s race and ethnicity are never a barrier to opportunity, including through measures in our draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill.”