Racism and Discrimination in UK: Legislation, Case Law and Societal Opinion

This report discusses the prevalence of racism and discrimination in the UK, including legislation and case law related to the issue. It also explores societal opinions on racism and discrimination, and their impact on minority communities.

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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................2
Societal opinion on racism...............................................................................................................3
Legislation and Case Law................................................................................................................4
Case law ..........................................................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Racism denotes discrimination, prejudice or hate against some particular racial or ethnic
group. Especially, the group which is minority or marginalised. Racism creates prejudices and
differences between people which creates inequality in the society. It is a negative process
wherein, system, policies, laws, rules, actions, scientific temperament of human and attitude
becomes biased and prejudice because of race. Since long, racism considered as practice of
injustice which is against humanity. It is a long-suffering exiting phenomenon which has a
negative impact in the social fabric of societies, communities, diversity, social and personal
relationship. Racism can be understood by the ethnic hierarchies created by the people in power
who believes that there are two section of people superior and inferior. That superior has the
advantage over inferiors. These hierarchies between groups created on grounds of race, origin,
region, ethnicity or cultural background. Racism has deepen its roots in the society and has
apparent in structural, organizational, social space and internalised. Recently, racism is a hot
topic which has taken attention of the world in relation to protest against governments and
institutional discrimination over the policies on social security and health. Especially, these
policies affecting the life of black peoples (Myers and Lantz2020). During COVID pandemic,
blacks, indigenous and different minority sections in UK have faced institutional discrimination
and inequities.
The government's own data and figures are enough to clear the picture of inequality and
social injustice which is faced and endured by black community and ethnic minority in United
kingdom. Even in employment or at work place, educational institution racial comment or
remarks being made to blacks and minority groups. As a matter of fact, the unemployment rate
of blacks in United Kingdom is twice the lower than whites. Blacks are most likely to be stopped
to frisk them by the cops. Recent COVID death list is clears the doubt that how badly ethnic
differences have rooted in the society. The government on the other side, seeking effective
measures to tackle burning injustices in a country. The former prime minister in the year 2016
attempted to bring down ethnic disparities and discrimination based on ethnicity facts gathered
by government departments. It was world's first initiative to counter racism and discrimination.
Based on research and findings it was found based on evidence which discovers racism and
racial differences and atrocities being continued in Britain. A survey was conducted to test the
attitude and beliefs of British people that whether the minorities getting equal treatment or not. It

was identified with supporting evidence that racial discrimination does happen in united
kingdom and through field experiment it was proved that minorities are at grave risk of racism
discrimination (Baldock2021).
Societal opinion on racism
Racism practice and discrimination is prevailing since the inception of millennium and
majority of British people did admit for being racially prejudiced. As per the European Social
Survey, questions were asked to British people on biological racism and belief of racist
established that there is natural or inherent differences prevailing between racial and ethnic
groups. These clears that some proportion of groups are inherently presumed themselves superior
from other who are subject to discrimination. Further, it was asked in an interview to which most
people agreed that, it is indeed true that some races or ethnic groups are inherently or naturally
less intelligent by birth, 18 percent of Britons agreed to this questions. In 2019, according to
nationally representative online survey, it was found that people who are racist believers are
more likely to opposed and annoyed to immigration and strongly condemned and express that
English ancestry must be preserved. As per the field experiment report conducted by The
Guardian Newspaper in 2018, it was identified that government data and figures reflects little
conclusive evidence that black and other minorities are at risk while seeking for a job or
accommodation in United Kingdom (Rasool2018).
In order to measure discrimination perceived by people were interviewed about their
experience and they answered that they, feel unsafe, insulted, threaten, physical attack, use of
criminal force at educational institutions, public space, in public transport, cab or taxi, shopping
malls, pubs and bar, street and park and other places. Further, they said the grounds on which
they face discrimination is due to their background including, cast,religion,origin,sex,age and
other. The impact of such discrimination affects mentally and cause psychological distress to
victim (Berghs and Dyson 2022.).
UK at its core, has a past relationship with slavery which now has become a history,
London is categorised as one of the multicultural cities in the world. In the case, where a 18 year
black boy killed in racist attack in UK, after this case it was identified by MacPherson report that
the killing of boy was a institutional racism because of poor handling of a case. The police in this
case did conduct investigation fairly. There are many improvement needs to be done by the
government of United kingdom to tackle the issue of racism and discrimination. Police killing is

not the major issues it is rare, but to change the perception of society towards racism and bring
all the sections of the society together be the aim. It is indeed tough to tackle racism because
racism can be of many kind. To counter racism each individual needs to stand and support anti-
racist movement (Givens2022).
Legislation and Case Law
Britain legislation was trying from the very starting to control the immigration and to
outlaw racial discrimination. From the time period of English Kings, they coping with Danish
migrants to passed the laws in parliament in the late 20th century. Since before the slavery
system, black people were living in Britain but, in the last sixty years have only black and Asian
people got settled in these border with greater number. In the intervening years, the race relations
in Britain come to be seen, and its find out that it is very important to helping them and make a
peaceful and fair society. In the morning of 22 June, 1948 the cruise ship of Empire Windrush at
Tilbury Docks got arrived, it was the initiating of modern day mass immigration to Britain. On
that board there were four ninety two Jamaicans who were mostly young, single men who had
come across the Atlantic in search of work. It was time of post-war where Britain was in
depression in trade with Caribbean and there was a shortage of jobs. It was the time when the
Britain try to rebuild itself because there wee shortage of labours (Washington 2020).
In the year of 1962, the government continue acted on the heated issue of racism created
Commonwealth Immigrants Act, it restricted the immigrants right of commonwealth citizens
which would granted in year of 1948 in British Nationality Act.
There was Labour leader “Hugh Gaitskill” to whom the act was referred, had a focus on
skilled workers to make them allow to do work as a “cruel and brutal anti-colour legislation. It is
the deliberate attempt to stop the flow of people of colour to UK from British Colonies. The
impact of this act was those who had been encouraged to come in UK for working in NHS and
become the part of welfare state, they didn't allowed to enter (MyersLantz2020).
Then, in the year of 1963 the incident took place which insist legislation to frame the law on
discrimination on basis of race, colour etc. In 1963, the Omnibus company which operated an
unofficial colour bar. In the against of that company, four West Indians men formed an action
group give the name as West Indian Development Council. They set up an action against the bus
company to prove that, the colour bar was correct. The interview was planned by them and asked

the bus company to that candidate was West Indian, that interview was got cancelled. They take
the inspiration from the incident taken place in America i.e. Rosa Parks and the Montgomery
Bus Boycott in 1955. They called the press conference and announced that no one of the West
Indian Community would use the bus service and in this protest many white people would
support their actions. This protest and their actions drew nation attention to racial discrimination
and after four months the bus company finally backed down and change the colour bar. (Bowling
and Westenra 2018).
This incident in Britain catches the attention to bring the act related to Race relations
which terminate discrimination on all the grounds such as; colour, race, ethnic or national origin.
In 1965, the parliament of Britain passed the act called” Race Relations Act”. It become the first
act which address the prohibition of racial discrimination. This act prohibited the discrimination
in public place also. This act brought the police into the scope of race relations legislations. It
become the duty of police to promote the race equality. The same act was amended in 2001 to
impose duties on public authorities to promote racial equality.
Case law
In a case of Roberts versus Commissioner of police of the Metropolis, this case is a
good example of search and stop of black people. Blacks are most likely to stop and search by
the cops and searched more than white people. Police are given an authority to stop and search
under section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The data released by Home
office showed that 38 percent of searches of blacks were conducted by cops in 2017-18, whereas
the black people population is less than 3.3 percent in the country's population. This data makes
clear that blacks are targeted more than whites. The power of cops to stop and search seems
directly linked with race and this shows clear institutional racism. The reason behind misusing
institutional power against blacks is because of their colour and they are black. Supreme court
held in this case based on the facts validate the force used restraining her on ground, handcuffing
her and forcefully frisked her. Court also validate section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public
Order Act 1964 and declined to consider Roberts plea of race discrimination. It was observed in
this case that the judges were unaware about the ground reality of black peoples.

CONCLUSION
From the above report, it is evident to conclude that discrimination on grounds of race,
ethnicity, colour, age, gender etc. created prejudices, differences and inequality in society.
Discrimination is not new, it has been in practice since millennia. Racism is a long suffering
discrimination causing mental and physical hurt to people. There are various characteristics of
racism which prevails in the society such as, race, colour, origin, creed etc. in context of UK,
blacks are targeted more by whites because they are minorities. It is a fact that minorities are
always subject to discrimination by majorities. There is race hierarchies established by the elites
class which considered themselves superior. Racism is a burning topic across the world and
discrimination on grounds of racism can be seen in societal structure, even in government
institution of UK racism and discrimination on black people can be seen. Cops during patrolling
can be seen targetting blacks, stopping them frisk. This report has also covered the media
coverage, ground experiment and interviews of victims and people who support racism to
understand the societal opinion on racism and discrimination.
REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Myers, W. and Lantz, B., 2020. Reporting racist hate crime victimization to the police in the
United States and the United Kingdom: A cross-national comparison. The British
Journal of Criminology, 60(4), pp.1034-1055.
Baldock, P., 2021. The origins of community work in the United Kingdom. In The Boundaries of
Change in Community Work (pp. 25-48). Routledge.
Rasool, Z., 2018. Policy, practice and racism: social cohesion in action. In Re-imagining
Contested Communities (pp. 7-14). Policy Press.
Berghs, M. and Dyson, S.M., 2022. Intersectionality and employment in the United Kingdom:
Where are all the Black disabled people?. Disability & Society, 37(4), pp.543-566.
Washington, H.A., 2020. How environmental racism is fuelling the coronavirus
pandemic. Nature, 581(7808), pp.241-242.
Bowling, B. and Westenra, S., 2018. Racism, immigration and policing (pp. 61-77). Oxford:
Oxford University Press.

Givens, T.E., 2022. Introduction: Structural Racism is the Problem of the 21st Century. In The
Roots of Racism (pp. 1-15). Bristol University Press.
Myers, W. and Lantz, B., 2020. Reporting racist hate crime victimization to the police in the
United States and the United Kingdom: A cross-national comparison. The British
Journal of Criminology, 60(4), pp.1034-1055.