Theresa May: I will tackle 'uncomfortable' racial divides in Britain
2 min read
Theresa May has vowed to get a grip on “uncomfortable” race inequalities in Britain as she unveiled findings from a major audit illustrating the stark divides in society.
The Prime Minister will claim to be “holding a mirror up” to the state of the UK as she tries to get her leadership back on course with a return to the pledges she made as she first took office.
Results from the unprecedented audit examining how different backgrounds are treated across areas including health, education, employment and justice will make stark reading.
They will show that the unemployment rate for people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) backgrounds is almost double that for white British groups.
Employment rates are far higher for white people than BAME groups and more than nine in ten headteachers are white British.
Two in three white British householders own their home, though only two in five of householders from any other ethnic group do, the report finds.
But it adds that white pupils from state schools had the lowest university entry rate in 2016.
Mrs May commissioned the audit - which includes data stretching back a decade - as one of her first acts after winning the keys to Downing Street in July last year.
She will say today: “In doing this ground-breaking work we are holding a mirror up to our society.
"The idea itself is not new – Charles Booth’s maps of rich and poor areas in Victorian London drew attention to hardship that was too often hidden – but this focus on how ethnicity affects people’s lives will present findings that are uncomfortable."
And she will add: “My most fundamental political belief is that how far you go in life should be based on your talent and how hard you work - and nothing else.
“Britain has come a long way in my lifetime in spreading equality and opportunity, but this Audit will be definitive evidence of how far we must still go in order to truly build a country that works for everyone.”
The comments are an echo of those she made on the steps of Downing Street over a year ago when she pledged to tackle the injustices in society and stand up for the “just about managing”.
Mrs May will lay out plans to target ‘hotspot’ areas where there are big gaps in employment – including extra training for young people and partnerships with employers.
The full report will be published next week with plans to make it a permanently available and evolving set of data so progress can be tracked.
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