Race Equality: A New Lib Dem Approach

I’m very much looking forward to the upcoming conference – Race Equality: A New Lib Dem Approach. The guest speaker is Vince Cable. It will be from 11:45 – 6pm on Saturday 1st June. If you’d like to come and join in please click here to book your tickets.

Equalities – how the ‘general duty’ was saved

Stephen Lawrence

It was fitting that, on the 20th anniversary of the death of Stephen Lawrence, the government decided to listen to campaigners and save a key element of our equalities laws.

Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats (EMLD) played a leading role in the campaign to save Section 3 of the 2006 Equality Act which provides a vision and mission statement for Britain’s equality watchdog.

This is known as the ‘general duty’ and both informs the work of the watchdog – the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) – which itself is responsible for setting the standard for the rest of our public services.

That is why the issue was more than symbolic. It is also an indicator of how committed the government is to equality and encapsulates the need for cultural change rather than just enforcing the law.

House of Lords

Earlier this week the House of Lords rejected government plans, contained in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill, to scrap the general duty after peers voted to keep it for the second time in just over a month. Lib Dem Equalities minister Jo Swinson, to her credit, recognised that opposition to the coalition plans was resolute and getting stronger by the day. We are delighted that she has now decided to keep this piece of equality law.

The development was significant as the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition has rarely backed down on legislation once Bills are debated.

It is worth noting that while our peers were willing to defy a three-line whip over this issue – seventeen Lib Dems rebelled this week – just four of our MPs stood up for equality in the Commons with one notable abstention.

We are glad that ministers eventually saw sense and decided to pull back from any further dismantling of equalities legislation that is the envy of Europe.

Our equality laws have been won over the past 50 years through much struggle and campaigning by ordinary people, and in particular by BAME communities. EMLD has played a critical role in this campaign through the support of many Lib Dem members and Parliamentarians. However, we still have a long way to go to ensure that we protect existing legislation and support EHRC to become a more effective public sector regulator of the Equalities Act 2010.

We offer our deep gratitude and for the leadership role played by Baroness Meral Hussain-Ece in working with us and in campaigning tirelessly in Parliament to keep the General Duty.

Our peers also rebelled for a second time on the issue of caste discrimination. Swinson has also conceded on this matter and included caste as a sub-category of race so that Dalits and other ‘lower caste’ people from the Indian sub-continent have recourse to the law over prejudice and ill-treatment as a result of their background.

As a party we now need to move forward on equality rather than just engage in rearguard actions to prevent existing laws being scrapped.

EMLD victory as equality law is saved

Originally published by Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats

Campaigning by EMLD and equalities experts has led to the government listening and dropping a plan to axe a key element of equalities law.

Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece

Lib Dem equalities minister Jo Swinson made the concession this week after peers rejected proposals to axe a vision statement which spelt out the need for the equalities watchdog – the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) – to work towards the elimination of discrimination in Britain.

Campaigners, including the Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats, expressed delight at the news. The fight to preserve the ‘general duty’ had been led in the Lords by former EMLD chair Baroness Meral Husein-Ece.

17 Lib Dem peers, including former leader Lord David Steel and Baroness Floella Benjamin, defied a three-line whip, contributing to a 180-210 defeat for the government. Many more Lib Dems abstained.

Over 3,000 members of the public had lobbied parliament thanks to a campaign by the public service union PCS backed by Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The Lords vote came on the 20^th anniversary of the death of Stephen Lawrence which was marked by a special service attended by David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband.

Ethnic Minority Lib Dems Chair, Issan Ghazni

Issan Ghazni, EMLD chair, said: “It is fitting that on the Anniversary of the death of Stephen Lawrence, the government has decided to pull back from any further dismantling of equalities legislation that is the envy of Europe, and has been won over the past 50 years through much struggle and campaigning by ordinary people, and in particular by BME communities.

“EMLD has played a critical role in this campaign through the support of many Lib Dem members and Parliamentarians. However, we still have a long way to go to ensure that we protect existing legislation and support EHRC to become a more effective public sector regulator of the Equalities Act 2010.

“EMLD offers its deep gratitude and recognises the major leadership role played by Baroness Meral Hussain Ece in working with us and in campaigning tirelessly in Parliament to keep the General Duty.”

The victory for equality campaigners was significant as the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition has rarely backed down on legislation.

But the news was tempered when it emerged that Swinson intends to oppose another important Lords amendment (36) which helps to underpin equalities laws.

Last week Swinson told the Commons that she wanted the EHRC to report on its’ own work rather than monitor the state of discrimination in society.

However privately ministers say that now they have given way to the Lords on the general duty there is nothing preventing the equalities watchdog from carrying out whatever monitoring they wish.

Ministers were also defeated for a second time caste prejudice. Peers voted to include caste alongside other forms of discrimination.

Yesterday peers remained defiant in their support for caste to be recognised as well as enabling the EHRC to do its’ job, with disability campaigner Baroness Jane Campbell of Surbiton (pictured) leading the fight to keep the duty.

She told colleagues: “The EHRC’s role as an agent of change matters to millions of people in this country, whether they are an elderly person in hospital, a woman fleeing a violent partner or a black teenager and his friend waiting for a bus.

“In a civilised society such as ours people in these vulnerable situations should feel confident that our institutions will accord them dignified and fair treatment as equal citizens.”

Baroness Hussein-Ece added: “I strongly believe that it would be extremely damaging for us as a country and society if we are seen to be rolling back on equality.

“Transparency, scrutiny and accountability remain the watchwords. Retaining the general duty is one key element of these, where we strive to become a society that values social justice and promotes greater equality.”

LIB DEM PEERS WHO SUPPORTED EQUALITY LAW

Lord Dominic Addington
Lord Eric Avebury
Baroness Elizabeth Barker
Baroness Floella Benjamin
Baroness Sal Brinton
Lord Tim Clement-Jones
Lord Brian Cotter
Lord Navnit Dholakia
Baroness Dee Doocey
Lord Ronnie Fearn
Lord Qurban Hussain
Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
Lord Andrew Phillips of Sudbury
Lord Roger Roberts of Llandudno
Lord David Steel of Aikwood
Lord Paul Strasburger
Lord Martin Thomas of Gresford

Letter to Lib Dem MPs: retaining equality

The Ethnic Minority Liberal Democrats and I have been lobbying to retain important equalities legislation which is at risk of being lost. Here is the letter I have recently sent to all Lib Dem MPs

We are writing to urge you to support the Lords amendment to retain Section 3 of the 2006 Equality Act, the General Duty of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. This measure is under threat in the ERRB.

This amendment received wide ranging support from across the House of Lords, with a significant number of Lib Dem Peers voting for the amendment in the name of Baroness Jane Campbell, a well known and respected disability campaigner, with many more abstaining.

We even saw a number of Conservative Peers abstaining because they were not convinced the government minister gave sufficient good reason as to why the General Duty should be removed.

This General Equality Duty represents the commitment not just of the EHRC to dedicate itself to the goal of achieving equality in reality but for the whole of Britain’s public services and Government.

The intention of Government to abolish this mission statement sends out all the wrong signals about the Coalition’s commitment to tackling discrimination against all sections of society that experience prejudice, racism, sexism, homophobia, age discrimination and so on, and this has a knock-on effect on the reputation of our own party.

If Britain’s equalities watchdog – the body responsible for upholding and enforcing equalities legislation – is no longer dedicated to the goal of abolishing discrimination then Britain’s 40,000 public authorities will similarly feel they no longer have to prioritise equality in service delivery.

As Liberal Democrats we have our own mission statement in the preamble to our party’s constitution. As you know, this informs our philosophy and acts as a guide to our policies. It provides a common purpose and paints a vision for the kind of society we wish to see. Indeed most corporate enterprises also have a mission statement.

Peers said that the vision of equality contained in the Duty represents the very reason why they and other politicians entered politics in the first place. I would therefore urge you oppose moves to repeal Section 3 of the Equality Act on Tuesday.

The General Equality Duty is not bureaucracy. It does not require a single additional form to fill in, and therefore should not have been included in the Red Tape Challenge reforms contained in the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. Nor is its’ proposed repeal a ‘tidying up exercise’ as ministers have claimed; abolishing a mission statement cannot sensibly be regarded as ‘tidying up’.

It is, we argue, the wrong proposal in the wrong Bill that sends the wrong signals to Britain’s public services. Just as importantly, it sends the wrong signals to the public at large about the Coalition’s commitment to equality.

Britain’s foremost equalities experts, including Professor Sir Bob Hepple QC, are implacably opposed to the move to abolish the General Equality Duty. He said: “Its’ repeal will deprive those applying the law of interpretative principles and will leave equality law rudderless.”

There was no opposition to the Section 3 in the House of Commons when it was passed into law. Indeed Eleanor Laing said at the time: “The important thing is that we all admire the aspirational nature of the general duty within it.”

Indeed, in 2011 Nick Clegg was happy to reassure Jo Swinson that he would “resist the siren calls to water down the Equality Act” by confirming that there would be “no move to dilute incredibly important protections to enshrine and bolster equality in this country under the guise of dealing with unnecessary or intrusive regulation.”

Abolishing the Duty would hand our opponents a gift to build a narrative that our party is rolling back the equalities framework of Britain and is not overly concerned about tackling discrimination. This narrative is already developing as a result of other changes to equalities laws and funding cuts to the EHRC that is hugely disproportionate to cuts to other areas of public expenditure.

At the very time when our party is gearing up to appeal to Britain’s Black, Asian and other minority ethnic (BAME) communities the repeal of Section 3 will have a the opposite effect, particularly in Labour-facing seats.

We Liberal Democrats supported a strong aspirational General Duty in 2006. We are now told by the ministers that these are “too wide ranging, and creates unrealistic expectations”, and that its’ repeal would make “little difference” to the work of the EHRC. If that is the case why remove it?

We hope that you will also heed the respondents to the government own consultation on the issue, who said by a ratio of 6:1 that the General Equality Duty should not be repealed.

The General Equality Duty came about a result of hard fought rights following the tragedy of the Stephen Lawrence case and as such it is an important part of the legacy of the fight for justice; a point Doreen Lawrence articulated when she wrote to the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister last November.

As Liberal Democrats we stand for building a fairer society. The proposal by Government before the House on Tuesday, to overturn the Lords will, is incompatible with that aspiration.

Let us keep the aspiration to work towards the elimination of discrimination contained within the General Equality Duty and in so doing let us strengthen our claims to be building a fairer society.

Please vote to uphold the Lords amendment to keep Section 3 and the General Equality Duty – not just a mission statement for the EHRC but for the whole of Britain.

Two and a half years into the Coalition – much done so far….and yet more to do.

Issan Ghazni

Despite governing in the most difficult economic climate in living memory, Nick Clegg and his team have take some key decisions that will have a real impact on people’s lives.

It’s that time in the life of a government…mid way, when political commentators analyse and take stock of the success or otherwise of the incumbents occupying the seat of power in Westminster. How have we fared during this time and how will we begin to sell our message to the voters in time for May 2015?

David Laws writes an interesting article in the February 2013 issue of AD LIB entitled “half-term report’. In it, Laws argues that everything that we have done so far has been directed towards a single purpose, which is to “help each person, at each stage of life, to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations”.

David Laws

He writes a compelling case for why we as Liberal Democrats should be proud of what we have managed to achieve during the past two and half years, and why we should be going out there with a more positive attitude on the doorsteps, and why we should be shouting from the rooftops. I totally agree – I find too often a sort of negative attitude with some colleagues who are almost too embarrassed to be out there campaigning. They hold on to some sort of guilt at being in government and having to make uncomfortable and difficult decisions. Well, I’m afraid that is the burden of responsibility that the electorate has bestowed upon us and if we don’t rise to the challenge in making those difficult choices, then we may not be trusted again…not very soon at any rate.

David Laws lays out quite clearly what some of those successes are:

• Expansion of support available to young families, with 15 hours of free childcare each week for every three and four year old child, and from next year, the poorest 40% of two year olds.
• The Pupil Premium has given teachers an extra £2.5 billion to support young people from the poorest backgrounds.
• Youth unemployment is now falling – we have put in place the Youth Contract, a £1 billion scheme to help young adults to get work, an apprenticeship or education.
• Making the tax system fairer for those in work by raising the income tax threshold to £9440, giving more than 20 million working people a tax break of £600, while taking two million people out.
• Implemented the biggest ever rise in the state pension, which by April this year will mean that we have increased it by £650 since coming to power in 2010.

So let’s pat ourselves on the back for a change and accept that our Parliamentary and ministerial teams have approached government in a resolute and determined manner. And that we as a party have so far successfully held our nerve in what has proved to be a very difficult and challenging two and half years. Let’s continue to work towards an equally rewarding period between now and 2015 so that we can face the electorate head on with a proud record of achievement.

Cameron and the EU referendum – an opportunity for Lib Dems to seize the agenda

Issan Ghazni

Cameron’s promise to the British public to give them a referendum on membership of the EU “to let the people decide” is a decision drenched in fear. His position is clearly based on an attempt to plaster over the divisions within the Tory party and stave off the growing influence of Ukip which is stealing the thunder of their euro-sceptic wing.

It is sheer madness that during the worst economic recession in postwar history, we have a political party that feels at ease with creating such insecurity and uncertainty over the next four years. The destabilising factors will make overseas companies look twice at the UK as somewhere to invest, with a particularly adverse impact on Scotland’s open, export-oriented economy. Over 50% of UK trade is with the EU and 3.5m British jobs are linked, directly or indirectly to our trade with other member states.

Cameron and his euro-sceptic backbenchers are playing a dangerous game here by holding a pistol to Brussels and to other national governments in the EU – to negotiate under the threat of leaving is placing Britain in a difficult position and will further add to our isolation. In turn this will only ensure that the French and Germans and most other member states resist reopening treaties which have been years in the making, to allow for British demands.

European Parliament

There is a world of difference between Britain joining in a constructive debate about the way the EU as a whole should develop and trying to persuade the other 26 member states that Britain alone should have a privileged position, and one that might give us a competitive advantage – that way lies failure and possible exit. The perception in Europe that Britain stands on the sidelines and constantly gripes under both Tory and Labour Governments – as Britain constantly seems to do, does nothing for our interests.

This presents the Liberal Democrats with a great opportunity now to open up some clear blue water between ourselves and the Conservatives leading up to the next general election in 2015 – Indeed Nick Clegg has already been open about our party position and has made it clear that this is not a stance that the Liberal Democrats will endorse. But we must now start to get the same message out to local communities in the run up to the Euro-elections in 2014 and ensure that this message is part of an aggressive campaign to secure the support of those people who still understand the value and importance of our role in Europe.