Starmer accused of delaying legislation change on ethnic minority pay hole over fears of Farage backlash | EUROtoday

Keir Starmer’s authorities has been accused of delaying strikes to deal with the ethnic minority pay hole due to fears of a backlash from Nigel Farage’s Reform.

A scathing letter from the Ethnicity Pay Gap Steering Committee has questioned why it has taken the federal government six months to introduce laws to make reporting on the problem necessary for big employers, as promised following the tip of a evaluate.

In the letter to equalities minister, Seema Malhotra, the committee has lashed out on the delay and prompt that concern of right-wing political pushback was on the coronary heart of the problem.

Norreen Biddle Shah, founding father of the assume tank Reboot, who wrote the letter on behalf of the committee, stated: “My view is that it is reasonable to ask whether the lack of movement on long-awaited legislation is being shaped by concern about political pushback, particularly at a time when the rhetoric around race has become more charged and the popularity of Reform has grown.

“But our research shows something very clear: despite heightened social tension, the public still overwhelmingly supports transparency and fairness at work.”

Her feedback come as a More in Common ballot noticed assist for Reform surge by three factors to 31 per cent, forward of the Tories on 23 per cent, with Labour down two on simply 19 per cent.

There are considerations that Labour is shedding out in conventional so-called purple Wall seats within the north of England, the Midlands, and Wales to Reform by pushing an anti-migrant message, with main politicians utilizing racially charged language.

Calling for a proof on the delay in laws, Ms Biddle Shah wrote: “The King’s speech was in July 2024 and the consultation ended in June 2025. We expected clarity by late 2025. The longer the government says nothing, the harder it becomes to explain why.”

The challenge has been pegged to financial development, with Sandra Kerr, race equality director at Business within the Community, beforehand highlighting that closing ethnicity pay gaps might add £37 billion a yr to UK Gross Domestic Product (GDP), whereas necessary reporting on wages would assist guarantee workers really feel “valued, respected, and treated fairly at work.”

The letter was despatched to coincide with Ethnicity Pay Gap Day, aimed toward drawing consideration to the persistent pay inequalities confronted by ethnic minority employees. It represents a humiliation for Ms Malhotra, who is about to be the keynote speaker on the Ethnicity Pay Gap Summit in February.

The Ethnicity Pay Gap Campaign, based by Dianne Greyson, has been calling on employers and policymakers to deal with the dearth of transparency round ethnicity pay disparities, which proceed to go away many employees incomes considerably lower than their white counterparts.

Unlike gender pay hole reporting, ethnicity pay hole reporting stays voluntary within the UK, regardless of mounting proof of structural inequality in pay, development and alternative, with campaigners calling for it to be made necessary.

According to a number of research, workers from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are, on common, paid lower than white workers throughout many sectors, even when accounting for his or her position and seniority. Campaigners argue that with out necessary reporting, organisations lack each the motivation and accountability to deal with the issue.

A research by the University of Surrey in 2024 discovered that within the NHS, 29.5 per cent of employees have been from ethnic minorities, however solely 7.9 per cent of senior administration got here from ethnic minorities.

The Independent has approached the federal government for remark.