UPDATE It’s time for justice
Originally published by UK Liberal Democrats
The killing of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man, by police in the US has sparked an international reckoning with racial injustice.
The Liberal Democrats need to commit ourselves to combating racism - conscious or unconscious, individual or institutional - wherever we find it, including within our own party.
All too often, we see racism and anti-blackness as a problem specific to America. But here in the UK, many people's lives are blighted by discrimination and inequality.
Whether it's health or education outcomes, your likelihood of being imprisoned, your access to mental health or domestic violence support - nearly every aspect of British society disadvantages Black, Asian and minority ethnic people.
This is unacceptable. The Liberal Democrats need to commit ourselves to combating racism - conscious or unconscious, individual or institutional - wherever we find it, including within our own party.
Our Conference has just voted through a wide-ranging set of reforms to tackle racism in British society. We're calling on the Government to:
It is our duty, as liberals, to fight for a fairer society that works for everyone
- Develop a COVID-19 Race Equality Strategy
- Implement in full the recommendations of reviews into racial injustice, including the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, without further delay
- Introduce a range of service- and sector-specific measures to dismantle barriers to Black, Asian and minority ethnic people, for example ending the discriminatory 'Right to Rent' scheme and improving support for migrant survivors of domestic abuse
- Require organisations with more than ten employees and in receipt of public funds to use name-blind recruitment processes
- Legislate to allow all-BAME shortlists for candidates for public office
- Scrap compulsory voter identification plans which would disproportionately impact BAME voters
- Through education and legislation address the impacts of the British Empire and promote reconciliation
We know this is only the beginning. We know there is a lot of work to do. But it is our duty, as liberals, to fight for a fairer society that works for everyone.
And whether that's within our own ranks or in wider society, Liberal Democrats across the country will work to tackle the racial injustice that persists in Britain today.