Dear Prime Minister
We are writing to you as leaders of civil society to ask you and your ministers to provide clear and consistent leadership to advance inclusion, equality and anti-racism in the face of the increasingly harmful impact of far-right activity on public and political life in the UK. If the UK is to stand against the division and hate fuelled by the far right we urge the government to take the concrete steps we recommend below.
We call on the government to:
1. Set the narrative by providing a compelling vision of the diverse and pluralist country we want to be, rooted in compassion and respect for our shared humanity and equal rights.
2. Be consistent and unflinching in rejecting all forms of racism, and proactive in standing up for the universality of human rights - for all people, including asylum seekers and other migrants, to be free from harm and treated fairly.
3. Strengthen your missions-driven approach by ensuring that any strategy to tackle disadvantage addresses the structural inequalities within communities, including by harnessing investment in growth and the green economy at scale to tackle discrimination, poverty and persistent disadvantage.
4. Commit to citizenship education - that reaches hearts not just minds - to increase political literacy and understanding of the rule of law and universal human rights as the everyday rights we all rely on. This should be embedded in the school curriculum, potentially through the forthcoming Curriculum and Assessment Review, as well as through a programme of public education. It is particularly needed now in advance of the planned extension of the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds.
5. Build resilience to hate and extremism within the communities who are being drawn in and exploited by the far right. Policy interventions should include:
- reviving the national hate crime strategy that played an important part under previous Labour governments to prevent and tackle hate crime
- the expansion of participatory democracy and other approaches that provide spaces for people to be heard, that facilitate dialogue and connection between people across boundaries and backgrounds
- enabling equality organisations, Local Resilience Forums, and wider civil society to play their important roles here. This should include Black and minoritised women’s organisations as key stakeholders given the weaponisation by the far right of violence against women and girls
From our position within the wide range of communities we come from and serve, we are well aware of the struggles that people of all backgrounds are having in their day-to-day lives and how scapegoating certain communities is being used as a strategy for political gain. We are witnessing the significant damage to people of all backgrounds caused by the far-right’s cynical spreading of division and hostility between communities, their undermining of the rule of law, and the weaponisation of violence against women and girls.
We are experiencing increasing racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and antisemitism on the streets and in workplaces, including abuse of charity staff and charity shop volunteers. All this alongside attacks by the media and threats of violence against lawyers and civil society groups working with migrant and other marginalised communities. Like most people across the UK, we were horrified by the racially-motivated rape of a Sikh woman in the West Midlands.
We welcome that, since the march organised by the far-right in London on 13 September, you have spoken up against racist rhetoric and violence targeting people because of the colour of their skin and that you have highlighted the importance of the values of diversity and respect. As well as reacting to events and relying on the police and criminal justice system, we urge the Government to take broader and longer-term action, and to consistently defend the benefits and strengths of our diverse and pluralist society.
In addition, as civil society leaders we know all too well that if the Government cedes ground to the far right in one policy area, such as the right to family life under article 8 of the Human Rights Act, that will not be the end of it. They will simply move on to their next target.
The Civil Society Covenant which you launched earlier this summer, has a key purpose to underpin the partnership between civil society and government to work together to create a fair, just and equitable society with improvements to people’s lives and protection of human rights. We urge you to put this commitment into action, and we stand ready to play our part to ensure the freedom and future of the UK.
You can read the full list of signatories here.