It’s unclear where race equality fits in today’s reshuffle. The ‘race equality’ minister, Don Foster, is seeing out the remainder his parliamentary term as the party’s chief whip after moving from the DCML.
His replacement, Stephen Williams, is a gay man with a long record speaking out against homophobia but has said nothing on race equality as far as I know. Ever.
The only public statement I have come across is these edited highlights of a Runnymede Trust conference on race equality where Williams had nothing of interest to say at all, and his blog hasn’t touched once on the issue of racism in over three years.
The Lib Dems have just passed a new race equality policy on education and employment which needs to be taken forward in government. If it is to amount to anything we need ministers who are committed to the agenda of dealing with racism in society.
Williams (pictured standing next to Clegg on the right) is the third white man in a row responsible for race equality since the coalition began, after Foster and Sir Andrew Stunell. Neither of Williams’ predecessors ‘got’ race equality, in my humble opinion, so it remains to be seen if the new post-holder is any more enlightened.
I am delighted that Baroness Susan Kramer was promoted today as transport minister, but in an ideal world she should have gone to DCML to lead on equality. She is, by some distance, the Lib Dem minister with the greatest handle on all equalities strands and has demonstrated her understanding of racism.
What a shame she is dealing with roads and trains instead of sorting out our equalities agenda.
By Lester Holloway @brolezholloway
