Keir Starmer's Ideological Blind Spot on Systemic Racism: A Black Critique.
Written by Lee Jasper, Co-founder of Operation Black Vote, Former Senior Political Adviser to the Mayor of London, Former London Criminal Justice Board Member, and Chair of the Alliance for Police Accountability (APA)
In the aftermath of the 2019 general election defeat, Keir Starmer assumed the mantle of leadership of the Labour Party with promises of unity, pragmatism, and renewal. Yet, as Starmer's leadership unfolds, a critical and disconcerting ideological blind spot has become glaringly evident: a profound misunderstanding and neglect of systemic racism within the United Kingdom. This oversight not only alienates a chunk of Labour's base but also starkly undermines the party's historic commitment to social justice and equality.
The pivot under Starmer's leadership towards a centrist stance, symbolized by an embrace of patriotism and the Union flag, has marginalised crucial discussions on race and systemic inequalities. Starmer and his team blocked internal constitutional reforms proposed by Black Labour members by providing constitutional guarantees with a focus on tacking Labour Party's lack of Black representation, disproportionate disciplinaries targeting Black and Asian employees and racism in candidate selection and deselection process.
In 2020 Starmer took the knee; today, he just taking the piss.
This shift, at a time when global movements across the world demand bold leadership on racial justice, highlights Starmer's reluctance to directly address systemic racism, revealing a significant ideological blind spot, a jaundiced view nurtured and weaned on the British societal and political culture of racism and xenophobia.
The treatment of high-profile Black MPs and activists, characterised by disciplinary actions and investigations, signals a troubling trend of silencing important voices in the fight for racial inequality. This issue, combined with Labour's lukewarm response to the Black Lives Matter movement and a notable absence of a comprehensive policy agenda to combat systemic racism, raises substantial doubts about Starmer's understanding of these critical matters.
Moreover, Starmer's leadership has been marked by notable inaction in implementing the recommendations from crucial reports like the Lammy Review, the Windrush Lessons Learned Review, The Forde Report and the Baroness Casey Review.
The slow response to the Forde Report's revelations of racism within the Labour Party itself underscores a lack of commitment to meaningful change. This ideological blind spot extends into Labour's policy and messaging strategies, with the scaling back of ambitious racial equality plans and cautious rhetoric around policing, immigration, and racial justice.
Such an approach suggests an overarching concern with not alienating Daily Mail readers. This benign neglect destroys what’s left of Labour's overhyped reputation as the defender of the marginalised. The stone-cold fact is Labour quietly marches with the Tories on race.
A stark illustration of this failure is the launch of Labour's 'race action plan' fronted by Annaliese Dodds MP on Monday, 5th February 2024. Described as a total shambles and a debacle, the launch was first cancelled and then hastily rearranged online under some bullshit pretext of ‘Gaza security concerns.”
The back of a “fag packet plan” was heavily criticised by a range of Black institutions for its lack of any real substance, lack of community engagement with Labours Black members and pithy launch that spoke volumes. Such is the level of blatant disrespect, even the of the Black press were excluded.
The chaotic nature of the event, as reported by attendees, underscores the initiative as a cheap PR stunt, a poorly organised tick-box exercise, deeply insulting to Black communities.
Frankly, a group of sixth-form students could produce more credible strategies and policies contained within Labour's plan.
The Labour Party's hesitance to address racial justice, evidenced by the Forde Report debacle, the marginalisation of Black and Asian members, and the failure to condemn racial atrocities unequivocally, reveals a superficial commitment to anti-racism. Labour's race equality proposals, dismissed as cosmetic and performative, epitomise a leadership that takes Black votes for granted, offering little in the way of substantive policy changes to dismantle systemic racism.
As Labour stands at this critical crossroads, it must confront its failings on systemic racism decisively. Without critical introspection and transformative action, Labour risks not only its electoral prospects but also its very soul. The party must embrace a bold stance on systemic racism to rebuild trust with Black, Asian, and ethnic minority communities, affirming its commitment to the principles of equality and justice it professes to uphold.
The time for decisive and authentic, radical action on issues of racial justice is now, more than ever and as James Brown famously sang, “It’s time to take it to the bridge,”