Badenoch pledges to scrap equality duty and expand stop-and-search powers

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has announced a significant policy shift aimed at dismantling the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) and tripling the use of stop-and-search powers. Speaking at the Institute for Government thinktank, Badenoch argued that the landmark Macpherson report into the 1993 murder of Stephen Lawrence established a flawed legal framework that now inhibits effective policing and public sector intervention.

Badenoch contended that the report enshrined the principle that an incident is racist if perceived as such by the victim or bystanders, a standard she argued has led to the acceptance of false accusations. She cited the response to the murder of Henry Nowak, where police accepted the perpetrator’s claim that the victim had accused him of racism, as evidence that mere accusations are being treated as facts. This, she claimed, has created a culture where public bodies fear being labelled racist, stifling necessary action in cases such as the Southport stabbings, the Nottingham stabbings, and the Manchester Arena bombing.

The Conservative leader committed to removing the obligation for public bodies to consider how they promote equality in their daily operations. She also targeted staff networks within the civil service, describing them as cliques that facilitate bullying and career advancement at the expense of other employees. Badenoch proposed that such networks should be restricted to social organisations and not granted official time off to conduct activities.

On policing, Badenoch defended plans to significantly increase stop-and-search incidents, specifically noting that more searches of young black boys would result in more lives saved. She referenced data indicating that black people are up to 48 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people in some affluent London areas, but argued that this disparity is justified by the higher recovery of knives. Badenoch stated that mothers of young black victims killed by peers have reportedly requested increased police powers to prevent further violence.

The proposals have faced immediate opposition. Labour’s Science Secretary Liz Kendall warned that abolishing the PSED would turn the clock back, noting the duty protects against discrimination against pregnant women, those on maternity leave, disabled people, and older workers. Disability charity Sense also criticised the move, with director of influencing Harriet Edwards describing the PSED as a vital safeguard that ensures public bodies consider the impact of decisions on disabled people’s access to essential services.