- Thursday, April 18, 2024
By: Eastern Eye Staff
RISHI SUNAK has spoken out on the raging equality protests, saying he has personally realised that racism “stings in a way that very few other things have”.
“As a British Asian, of course I know that racism exists in our country,” the chancellor told Sky News on Wednesday (10).
He added that people “are angry, they’re upset and they want to see change”.
Sunak, however, noted that Britain had made “enormous progress” over the years on the equality front, and that “change doesn’t come about through acts of vandalism or violence”.
When asked if he had experienced racism, Sunak said: “Absolutely, absolutely I have. It stings in a way that very few other things have stung me.
“But the things that might have happened many years ago when I was a kid, I think are things that would not happen to me today.”
While appreciating the progress made over generations, Sunak stressed that there was more to be done.
“I would take a moment to recognise the enormous change we’ve made in this country from the time that my grandparents first arrived here, from the time that I was born and grew up,” he said.
“The work that has happened in the years before now has been tremendous and we deserve credit for that but that doesn’t mean that there’s not more to do.”
Earlier in a Twitter message, Sunak said it was apparent that “people are angry and frustrated”, adding that he had got “a lot of questions on what I think about last weekend’s protests”.
“They want to see, and feel, change,” he wrote.
“But a better society doesn’t happen overnight – like all great acts of creation, it happens slowly, and depends on the cooperation of each one of us toward that common goal.”
He noted that the current generation had “inherited a country far more inclusive and fairer that at any point in its history”.
But, he added, “our story as a country isn’t finished… it’s a work in progress and will always be”.
He pointed out to the “small minority” who engaged in violence and vandalism that their acts were “criminal” and misleading.
He said such people “perpetuate a dangerous lie: that the temporary excitement of destruction is the same as change”, adding that they “always will be wrong”.
“But to the vast majority which that seeks only peaceful protest within the law and a better future for themselves and their children: whilst our progress feels slow, I promise you it is permanent,” said Sunak.
