The UK government's race report is so shoddy, it falls to pieces under scrutiny | Race

Illustration: Eleanor Shakespeare/The Guardian
Illustration: Eleanor Shakespeare/The Guardian
Fri 16 Apr 2021 01.00 EDT
Last modified on Fri 16 Apr 2021 02.37 EDT
Plenty has been said about the politics of the government’s latest report on race. Barely any attention has been paid by most of the media to its actual evidence, even from supporters delighted that it has some. “This report DOES have facts,” cooed Rod Liddle in the Sun, with the same sunny pleasure that a toddler might take from a book having words.
Yet the nature of those facts has barely been scrutinised by journalists. Instead, newspapers on the right have complained about “zealots of wokedom” (the Express) and their “baseless abuse” (the Telegraph) of Tony Sewell, the commission’s chief. As Matthew Syed wrote in the Sunday Times, “shouldn’t this be on the evidence rather than the person who assembled it; shouldn’t we play the ball rather than the man?” Fair enough, although he doesn’t bother examining the evidence either. Not so much playing the ball as just being very chuffed there’s something that looks like one.

Related Keywords

United Kingdom ,British ,Theresa May ,Alex Stevens ,Tony Sewell ,Rod Liddle ,Dame Elish Angiolini ,Aditya Chakrabortty ,Matthew Syed ,Kamaldeep Bhui ,James Forsyth ,University Of Kent ,Express ,Cabinet Office ,Sunday Times ,West End ,Michael Marmot ,Downing Street ,Her Majesty ,Loyal Hot Takers ,British Journal ,ஒன்றுபட்டது கிஂக்டம் ,பிரிட்டிஷ் ,தெரேசா இருக்கலாம் ,அலெக்ஸ் ஸ்டீவன்ஸ் ,டோனி தையல் ,தடி லிடில் ,டேம் எலிஷ் ஆஞ்சியோலினி ,மேத்யூ சையத் ,கமல்தீப் பூய் ,ஜேம்ஸ் ஃபார்ஸித் ,பல்கலைக்கழகம் ஆஃப் கேண்ட் ,எக்ஸ்பிரஸ் ,மந்திரி சபை அலுவலகம் ,ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமை முறை ,மேற்கு முடிவு ,மைக்கேல் மர்மோட் ,வீழ்ச்சி தெரு ,அவள் கம்பீரம் ,பிரிட்டிஷ் இதழ் ,