Equality issues, simply put, are about fairness. At their most basic, they are the questions of whether we choose to live in a society where everyone is on a level playing field of opportunities. Much has changed since the majority of British equality legislation was developed. The time is right for a thorough examination of what is currently on the statute book, and a reflection on what rules, encouragement and enforcement will help to create a fairer society over the next few decades.
At the moment, the statute book is littered with different laws that relate to different groups, from equal opportunities for women to people with disabilities and race relations. At the same time, the European Union is rightly forcing us to consider protections in areas where the UK has a tradition of woeful neglect including sexuality, religion and age. What is interesting is that it is diverse groups, from across British society, who have been amongst the first to recognise the common threads that run through different forms of prejudice. They have started to look to a future in which a single equality act could encompass the broad sweep of anti-discrimination measures and be enforced by a single equality commission . The different equality commissions the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission and Stonewall, on behalf of the lesbian and gay community, have already started to work together on common areas of activity. The government, led by Barbara Roche, is also actively considering bringing together equality enforcement. So the time is right to consider what a single equality bill and commission would look like and how it should work.
There would be no point in any single act or body if it did not start with the trust of the communities that it would represent. To gain and hold that trust, it is clear that an equality bill, as well as combating the common origins of prejudice, must not lose the sophistication necessary to work in distinct areas of discrimination. Similarly, any equality commission should set the strategic anti-discrimination agenda and co-ordinate work across different groups but must still have experience of, and expertise in, all the different forms of discrimination that it aims to tackle.
With this model, it is easy to see how a single equality commission would be able grow its remit as British society continues to develop. It is this flexibility that is one of the primary benefits of a new approach to equality. New groups and new identities emerge too quickly for legislation that restricts and tries to divide people into rigid groups to stay relevant. Britain s variety has given us one of the most dynamic societies and economies in the world and we need an equality framework that enhances, not restricts, these strengths. By engaging with groups across society in developing its thinking, it is clear that the government is determined to ensure that the development of the future equality framework comes as much from the grassroots as it does from Whitehall and quite right, too.
As the discriminated we too must accept responsibility if we are to argue for rights. We must engage with society and we must avoid the ridiculous; the banning of nursery rhymes, the re-naming of bin liners, the re-naming of streets, and deal more actively with substantive issues such as partnership rights, joint adoption rights and equal treatment before the law. We also, as a Labour government, should remove equality from the list of issues of conscience. If we are to legislate we should use the whip in parliament. There is something distasteful in the notion that equality is a matter conscience.
There is a nettle to be grasped in forging the equality agenda for the 21st century. Being proud of it will not only be good for Labour but will build the future foundations of a fairer society for everyone in Britain.