Nigel Farage's calls to axe equality laws branded 'absurd'
Ukip leader Nigel Farage suggests discrimination legislation is no longer needed in the workplace
Nigel Farage has been accused of "breathtaking ignorance" after suggesting that anti-discrimination legislation was no longer needed in the workplace.
The Ukip leader said there were too many race discrimination laws and that employers should be allowed to discriminate on the basis of nationality, hiring Britons over foreigners if they so choose.
Asked what discrimination legislation he would abolish, he said: "Much of it. I think the employer should be much freer to make decisions on who he or she employs."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Farage was speaking to Trevor Phillips, the former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, for a Channel 4 documentary called Things We Won't Say About Race That Are True.
He added that a Ukip government would not retain laws against discrimination on the grounds of race or colour because the party is "colour-blind", and suggested that such laws are no longer needed.
"I don't think, if I talked to my children... about the question of race, they wouldn't know what I was talking about," he said.
A spokesman for No 10 Downing Street told The Guardian Farage was "wrong and desperate for attention". He added: "The laws are there to protect people from racial discrimination. It's deeply concerning he doesn't understand that."
Labour's shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan said: "This is one of the most shocking things I have ever heard from a mainstream politician and demonstrates breathtaking ignorance."
Khan said there had been "huge progress" on tackling racial inequality in the UK, but that "things are still far from perfect".
Labour MP Tessa Jowell branded Farage's comments "absurd" and warned that the country "must never go backwards on equality".
The Independent cites employment market data showing that the proportion of people from ethnic minority backgrounds who have been jobless for more than a year has risen by 49 per cent since the 2010 election.
Farage has since said his comments have been "wilfully misinterpreted", insisting he was talking about nationality not race.
But Channel 4's programme makers deny his views were misrepresented. "He was asked a direct question on whether there would be a law against discrimination on the grounds of race or colour and he replied 'no'," they said.
During the same interview, while talking about immigration, Farage said there was an "especial problem with some of the people who've come here and who are of the Muslim religion who don't want to become part of our culture".
He suggested there was rising public concern about immigration because people "see a fifth column living within our country, who hate us and want to kill us".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
By The Week UK Published
-
Who are the markets backing in the US election?
Talking Point Speculators are piling in on the Trump trade. A Harris victory would come as a surprise
By The Week UK Published
-
Crossword: November 3, 2024
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
What is the next Tory leader up against?
Today's Big Question Kemi Badenoch or Robert Jenrick will have to unify warring factions and win back disillusioned voters – without alienating the centre ground
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What is Lammy hoping to achieve in China?
Today's Big Question Foreign secretary heads to Beijing as Labour seeks cooperation on global challenges and courts opportunities for trade and investment
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
What next for Reform UK?
In the Spotlight Farage says party should learn from the Lib Dems in drumming up local support
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Is Britain about to 'boil over'?
Today's Big Question A message shared across far-right groups listed more than 30 potential targets for violence in the UK today
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
UK's Starmer slams 'far-right thuggery' at riots
Speed Read The anti-immigrant violence was spurred by false rumors that the suspect in the Southport knife attack was an immigrant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
The Tamils stranded on 'secretive' British island in Indian Ocean
Under the Radar Migrants 'unlawfully detained' since 2021 shipwreck on UK-controlled Diego Garcia, site of important US military base
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Britain's Labour Party wins in a landslide
Speed Read The Conservatives were unseated after 14 years of rule
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published