Last night I gave a speech in support of the Croydon Council debate motion on tackling racial inequality, injustice and racism.
You can watch the speech here and find the transcript below.
This motion tonight is quite rightly a conscious, full-throated declaration to our residents that we must all play our part in the fight against injustice and inequality. To show that we will not tolerate racism in any form, and will work to improve the lives of all our residents, including those from BAME communities.
Black lives matter. If we want to build a country that works for everyone then that means properly understanding and tackling the systemic injustices that hold people back from reaching their full potential.
The UK collects a wealth of ethnicity data. We must ensure it is used to inform how we can improve our country for all. In 2017 the Government brought all the data together and published the first ever Race Disparity Audit.
It revealed that:
- Asian and Black households were more likely to be poor and were the most likely to be in persistent poverty.
- Low educational attainment and progress is closely associated with economic disadvantage.
- And around 1 in 10 adults from a Black, Pakistani, Bangladeshi or Mixed background were unemployed compared with 1 in 25 White British people.
- Home ownership is substantially lower among African, Arab, and Mixed White and Black African households.
The RDA also looked at Policing. Criminal Justice. Health disparities and more. Without breaking the racial disparity cycle, it will go on and on and on.
As leaders of our communities, we have a duty to work collectively to find the right, practical solutions to improving the lot of all our residents in Croydon – but particularly the most disadvantaged.
I know that we can do it. But it must be in tangible, practical deeds and not virtue-signalling words. There will always be more for us to do. And we will not always have all the answers. But through working in partnership with our passionate communities we will be able to improve the lives of every part of our wonderfully diverse borough.
I believe that how far you go in life should be based on your talent and how hard you work – and nothing else. But we know that this won’t happen with warm words alone, our systems need to change and it’ll only do so with all of us working to a common goal.
That is why I am proud to speak in support of this motion.
