Race has dropped off the agenda

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/nov/02/racial-equality-bad-old-days

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There are currently more young black men unemployed than employed. Chinese graduates can expect to earn 25% less over the course of their careers than their fellow white graduates. Government research has shown that those with an identifiably African- or Asian-origin name need to make nearly twice as many job applications to even get an interview. Black people are seven times more likely to be stopped and searched by the police than white people. Since the murder of Stephen Lawrence, a further 96 people have been killed at the hands of racists.

I could go on. The litany of racial inequality and injustice in our society is a long and shameful one. It is for this reason that minority communities have long called for a society free of racial discrimination, and successive governments have created legislation and institutions to address our "race problem".

But since the last election the coalition has been busy downgrading efforts to address racial inequality. Government has wasted little time in deciding that fiscal austerity means that the promotion of greater equality is a price that is simply not worth paying. Central government support for organisations working to tackle racial inequality was cut by 100%. Its "red tape challenge" suggested that protection against discrimination is merely an inconvenient barrier to business growth.

When challenged in parliament last month on having no strategy to address the high levels of unemployment faced by young black men, Helen Grant MP, recently appointed minister for equality, argued that targeted support would be "wrong" since "everyone needs help".

Such a sustained attack on efforts to close gaps in education, employment, health and criminal justice is made worse when the body that is supposed to act as a watchdog on the erosion of equality itself loses the confidence of those it is seeking to protect. This week, two commissioners at the Equality and Human Rights Commission with extensive experience in fighting racial inequality have been told their services are no longer required. Simon Woolley and Baroness Hussain-Ece were not even interviewed after they applied to continue as commissioners – despite the fact that in his formal assessment this year, Woolley was described as providing "outstanding leadership on race equality" and being "a vital contributor to the commission's development".

Trevor Phillips's term as chair of the EHRC ended in the summer. Now, five years since the abolition of the Commission for Racial Equality, there may soon be no minority ethnic commissioners on its successor body. Were these commissioners considered too vocal in challenging the direction of government?

In her pre-appointment hearing, the new chair of the EHRC, Baroness O'Neill, was asked whether she had experience in dealing with race issues. The best she could offer was that she regularly spoke to Cambridge university undergraduates from minority backgrounds – hardly a representative sample of Britain's minority population. If this is the only insight the chair has on racial discrimination, it is crucial that the rest of the commissioners have an understanding that goes beyond a few niceties expressed over sherry in the senior common room.

We need an effective EHRC now more than ever – a body that can challenge government, when necessary, and work alongside public authorities to create a society that does not waste the talents of people simply because of their identity. Under this government the EHRC has already been hit by budget cuts of over 60%. If it's to gain the confidence of minority ethnic communities the EHRC must prove it is a watchdog with teeth, rather than a government poodle.