Keir Starmer slams Reform’s plans to axe Equalities Act as anti-British
The PM tore into Nigel Farage and Reform UK after they vowed to rip the Equalities Act, and warned it went against the British values of tolerance and compassion
The PM branded Reform UK’s plans ‘shocking’(Image: PA)
Keir Starmer has branded Nigel Farage’s plans to axe the Equalities Act as “shocking” and anti-British.
The PM tore into Reform UK after they vowed to rip the 2010 law, and warned it could lead to more discrimination against women. In a call for the British values of tolerance and compassion, Mr Starmer added he “shuddered to think” what women would make of the policy.
On Tuesday Reform UK’s new equalities spokeswoman Suella Braverman, who was sacked by the Tories for breaching the ministerial code, said she would abolish the act which was passed by Gordon Brown ’s Labour government.
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, the PM slammed the pledge. He said: “Can I just say how shocking it is that Reform are suggesting that we tear up the Equalities Act? This is decades of protection and it goes basic values, one of which is, should women be treated equally with men.
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
READ MORE: Nigel Farage’s policies that could hammer families if Reform UK wins powerREAD MORE: Reform UK plans to push kids into poverty with two-child benefit limit U-turn
“That is core, that is British, that is something which was fought for, the right for women to be treated equally with men. For Reform to say ‘no more’ it’ll now, under their watch, be alright to go back to the old days where women were not treated equally, I shudder to think what any of the women watching this would think of someone who says I want to rip up the proposition that women should be treated equally with men.”
Mrs Braverman has claimed repealing the Equalities Act would lead to a country “defined by meritocracy not tokenism” and said the current law created division and “victimhood”. However, the PM pointed it offered protections to people from racism.
He said: “To take another example, that you should be treated equally regardless of your race. We know where all this was years ago in this country, we know the battles that were fought, many of them by the Labour Party to get proper equality. We know the examples of landlords who used to have signs on the door about who could stay in their property or not.
“This goes to the heart of core values and I think it actually rips up something that goes to who we are as a country, because I believe passionately, that to be tolerant, compassionate and diverse is what it is to be British and this tears that up, and I would genuinely like to see anyone from Reform try to defend the proposition that women should not be treated equally with men.”
Earlier this week the TUC warned scrapping the Equalities Act, which protects citizens from discrimination, would “legalise discrimination against a worker if they are a woman, disabled, black, pregnant or gay.”
