Abbott: Cuts will hit race relations
By politics.co.uk staff
The government’s public spending cuts could set back race relations in Britain for a generation.
Speaking to the Today programme, the Labour leadership candidate said a ‘last in first out’ approach to redundancies would hit black and women workers hardest.
“Black (people) and ethnic minorities are predominantly employed in the public sector, particularly women,” she said
“My concern is that the progress black and ethnic minority workers have made in employment is relatively recent and if there have to be big cuts, it will be ‘last in, first out’ and these cuts will fall disproportionately not just on women but on black and ethnic minority workers.
“I think the public sector cuts have the potential to set back race relations and black and ethnic minority communities by a generation.”
The most left wing of the five leadership candidates has trailed in many polls, but many analysts expect her to perform surprisingly well in the final ballot.
The government is already being taken to court by the Fawcett Society, which claims the Budget did not assess its impact on women as required under UK equality law.
