As Donald Trump starts clamping down on diversity, equality and inclusion practices, it’s a shame that the same can’t be said on our side of the pond. In the same week that the new president ordered all of the US government’s DEI staff to go on paid leave ‘immediately’, Mr S has spotted a rather, er, odd question submitted by Caerphilly’s Labour MP Chris Evans on the Equality Act. Indeed, it might have left No.10’s spinners pulling their hair out…
It appears Evans seemed to think it was a good use of his time and status to table a parliamentary question about the introduction of yet more protected characteristics to the legislation. The matter that Evans himself appears especially concerned with is, um, hair colour. As if we were running out of things to get wound up about, eh?
It may not be the first query about which groups are protected by the Act – race equality organisations have urged Labour to review the legislation while trans groups have for years been calling for it to include ‘gender identity’ – but it’s certainly the weirdest. Not that the equalities minister Anneliese Dodds has any shortage of staff to deal with Evans’ queries – with a parliament response to Sir John Hayes revealing that there is a whopping 133 full-time equivalent staff employed by the Office for Equality and Opportunity. Trump would not be impressed…
In a rare stroke of good judgment not usually demonstrated by the Starmtroopers, equalities minister Anneliese Dodds replied firmly: ‘The government has no such plans.’ For now, at least. Don’t give them ideas Chris!
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