‘Substantial ethnic inequalities’ exist in UK: Research

More than a third of Britons with ethnic and religious minority backgrounds have experienced racial abuse, a comprehensive new study revealed, despite the UK society looking inclusive with an Indian-origin prime minister.

“Britain is not close to being a racially just society,” the research by St Andrews University, Manchester University and King’s College London said.

It found the prevalence of “substantial ethnic inequalities” across British society and institutions with ethnic minorities exposed to “strikingly high” levels of physical or verbal abuse.

It also noticed inequality of outcomes in education, housing, workplace and interactions with the police.

According to the research reported by the Guardian, one in six people from minority ethnic and religious groups reported a racist physical assault before the pandemic.

The survey found 29 per cent of the minority groups experienced racial discrimination in education and employment and nearly a fifth felt discriminated against by police and when looking for housing.

Ethnic minorities are more likely to live in overcrowded housing than white Britons, with 60 per cent of Roma families and about 25 per cent of Pakistani people saying it is true in their case.

The outcome of the research, described by the Guardian as the ‘most comprehensive survey of race inequality in the UK for more than a quarter of a century’, is at odds with the government-funded Sewell Report published in 2021. Swell Report is accused of downplaying structural racism.

Despite the prevalence of discrimination, minority groups largely said they had a strong sense of belonging to British society, the latest study found.

Professor Nissa Finney of the University of St Andrews said Britain “is immeasurably far from being a racially just society.”

“The kinds of inequality we see in our study would not be there if we had a really just society,” Finney, who led the study, said.