The Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities has published their 258 pages long report on race and ethnic disparities in the UK. Within minutes every Tom, Dick and Harriet jumped out of their closets to denounce the report. The usual fake outrage brigade included the Black Lives Matter hooligans, the Extinction Rebellion extremists, the defund the Police gangs, the destroy the statue mobs and our elected representatives playing dirty politics. Their narrative, that UK institutions and society are racist, and UK as a nation is racist.
Where do I stand? Well, all of you know that over the decades I have challenged all forms of discrimination, and from any quarter. I have experienced racism directed at me from the left, the right and the centre of British society over the past 5 decades. However, as a proud British Indian it’s time to challenge those who will do anything to undermine this nation for their own perverted ideology.
I have yet to find a nation, or a people, who don’t discriminate. Since humans came into existence, discrimination has been the basic instinct used to survive, conquer, enslave, govern, and exploit. Those who have jumped on the bandwagon to undermine the UK, are themselves the very root of discrimination that they complain about.
The question an intelligent society needs to ask is, not if there is discrimination – but, to what degree does discrimination (in all its forms) exist, impact and affect all of us, and what do we need to do to address those issues. Which is what the report attempts to do.
In the 2019 General Election, the vote share was: Conservative 43.6%, Labour 32.2%, Liberal Democrat 11.5%, Scottish National Party 3.9%, Green 2.7%, The Brexit Party 2.0% and UKIP 0.1%. More than 90% of all the votes went to mainstream political parties. Those parties described as right or far right got only 2.1%. Think about it, when the British people are given a free vote, they reject parties that are considered racist. Now let’s compare that with our neighbour France. Current polling shows what the far-right candidates are getting: Le Pen 26%, Mélenchon 11% and Dupont-Aignan 5%. So, in France, some 42% of voters are supporting far-right leaders. Think about it!
My contention being, let us not throw the baby out with the bath water. In the UK we have made good progress, and yes, we have much to do. But let us be clear, discrimination will never cease in any country for the next several hundred years, if ever.
Over the past five decades we have seen some ethnic groups not only survive, but they have also become incredibly successful. Success it seems is varied and dependent on your ethnicity, your faith, your colour and your gender – or would it be too controversial to suggest that one’s own aspirations, and a positive work ethic to succeed counts as well? It seems some groups are quite happy to take benefits, contribute nothing to society and then blame everyone for their predicament.
The report suggests that the much-abused term, BAME, should be abandoned, and rightly so. It’s what many of us have been saying for a while now. There are some ‘minorities’ who abuse the system and seek refuge in race discrimination to hide the ills of their own making.
All our institutions must improve. There is much historic restorative justice that needs to be given to those whose lands, culture, language, and history has been decimated. Maybe it’s time Her Majesty begins this process, making her the only Monarch in history to do so. Now would that not be a fitting legacy?
