Will a new Race Equality Act improve race relations?

Recorded at the Battle of Ideas festival 2024 on Saturday 19 October at Church House, Westminster.

ORIGINAL INTRODUCTION

‘Labour will introduce a landmark Race Equality Act, to enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority people, strengthen protections against dual discrimination and root out other racial inequalities.’ This is the promise given in Labour’s election manifesto. It all sounds sensible enough at a quick glance – surely any legislation that creates a fairer and more equal society should be welcomed? After the summer riots, UK race relations feel fragile. The question is, will Labour’s promised new laws help or hinder community cohesion?

Some fear the law might be both unnecessary and, worse, could create unnecessary dividing lines, encouraging a racialised view of everyday life. For example, Labour wants to make it mandatory for large companies to report on pay gaps according to ethnicity, bringing it into line with reporting on gaps between men and women’s pay. But is this legislation really necessary, when it is already illegal to pay people less on the basis of their ethnicity? A report from EU Agency for Fundamental Rights even ranks Britain the lowest in terms of prevalence of discrimination due to ethnic background. Moreover, as Lord Sewell’s Report for the Commission of Racial and Ethnic Disparities pointed out, comparing men to women, who each make up about half the population, is more reliable statistically than comparisons between many different, mostly smaller ethnic groups.

The proposed Bill also risks embroiling schools in controversy over reporting on ethnic disparities in outcomes, with vague promises of a ‘curriculum which is rich and broad, inclusive and innovative’. Indeed, some critics have interpreted this as code for rejecting established educational standards and practices in favour of more politicised EDI material entering the classroom. Additionally, promises to reverse the Conservatives’ decision to downgrade the monitoring of anti-Semitic and Islamophobic hate – which potentially means adopting the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s definition of Islamophobia – compounds fears that, rather than progressing equality, a new race-relations law might fuel even more division.

Why does the Labour Party think British people need more law to improve race relations via eliminating disparities? Is disparity proof of inequality? Might proposed Positive Action schemes create new divisions and resentment in workplaces and schools? Or is the law a well-meaning and important stepping stone in ensuring a cohesive society, with all possible vestiges of racism removed from the public square?

SPEAKERS
Albie Amankona
broadcaster; financial analyst; executive member, 2022 Group; vice chair of outreach, LGBT+ Conservatives; co-founder, Conservatives Against Racism

Dr Anna Loutfi
barrister, The Barrister Group; managing partner, DL Law; advisory council member, Don’t Divide Us

Hardeep Singh
journalist, author, ‘Islamophobia’ Revisited; deputy director, Network of Sikh Organisations

Colin Wynter KC
multi-award winning barrister, Maryon Wynter Chambers;

CHAIR
Dr Alka Sehgal Cuthbert
director, Don't Divide Us; author, What Should Schools Teach? Disciplines, subjects and the pursuit of truth