In his latest pledge, Conservative leadership hopeful Rishi Sunak has promised to review the Equalities Act to put a tab on the 'woke nonsense' to permeate public life, media reports said.
By definition, woke culture means being aware of and actively attentive to important facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).
On Saturday (30), the former chancellor said that he wants to stand up against 'leftwing agitators' from 'bulldozing British values'.
He wants to ensure sex means biological sex in the 2010 Equality Act and to preserve the gendered words like 'woman' or 'mother'.
When Sunak started the campaign, he clarified that he would oppose biological males being allowed to compete against women in sports and protect single-sex services.
Sunak said he wants to shield students from inappropriate material by enforcing statutory guidance for schools on how they teach issues of sex and relationships. His other idea is to protect free speech by amending the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The Tory candidate is determined to end the brainwashing, the vandalism and the finger-pointing.
“What’s the point in stopping the bulldozers in the green belt if we allow left-wing agitators to take a bulldozer to our history, our traditions and our fundamental values?," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
“Whether it’s pulling down statues of historic figures, replacing the school curriculum with anti-British propaganda, or rewriting the English language so we can’t even use words like ‘man’ ‘woman’ or ‘mother’ without being told we’re offending someone?."
According to Sunak, the 2010 Equality Act was often used to engage in social engineering to which no one has given consent.
“It has been a Trojan horse that has allowed every kind of woke nonsense to permeate public life. It must stop. My government would review the Act to ensure we keep legitimate protections while stopping mission creep," he was quoted as saying by media outlets.
“Our laws must protect free speech, block biological men from competing in women’s sport and ensure that children are allowed to be children.”
Sunak's rival Liz Truss also supports single-sex spaces and backs a policy that guarantees schoolgirls can go to a toilet in a safe environment.
A recent YouGov poll revealed that just 8 per cent of Conservative party members want to give priority to fighting the woke agenda.
Anti-Racism protesters come out in support of refugees outside the Cladhan Hotel on September 13, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)
