Chris Johnson and Andrew Ryder write about a new policy for Gypsies and Travellers which was quietly issued at the end of last month. At the end of August the government issued a flurry of statements, such as the dissolution honours list, which included a number of controversial new additions to the House of Lords, and was
We reproduce here a ‘statement of concern'[1] issued by Robin Richardson of Insted Consultancy on ‘School Governors and British Values’ which also touches on the statutory duty to prevent violent extremism now placed on schools and other educational establishments. Summary 1. Several school governors or former school governors in Birmingham have recently received a letter from the
Below we reproduce a personal reflection by Race & Class contributor Phil Scraton. September 11, 2001. The day imprinted on a disparate international collective consciousness. As two planes hit New York’s twin towers, another engulfed the Pentagon in flames and United Airlines Flight 93 plane came down in Pennsylvania en route to its target, I slipped traversing
A monthly calendar for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Immigration and asylum 24 July: The government’s system for monitoring companies it pays to run migrant detention centres is called into question after a year-long Freedom of Information battle wins disclosure of confidential ‘self-audits’. The documents reveal how contractors are paid according to their own monthly performance reports. (Corporate Watch, 24 July 2015) 27 July: The Home Office announces it will
Dear IRR News subscriber, As thousands of ordinary people across Europe offer food, clothing and shelter to the desperate refugees on their doorsteps, while EU politicians squabble about numbers to be accepted, we publish timely comments by the IRR’s Director to a recent meeting of members of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
The Birmingham-based 4WardEver UK campaign and the Mikey Powell Campaign have launched a crowdfunding appeal for a national family support fund for relatives, young people and children affected by deaths in state custody in the UK. The Memorial Family Fund has been set up in remembrance of Mikey Powell and acknowledges the work and campaigning of the late Pauline
Will those from BAME communities be disproportionately affected by the government’s intensive workfare programme for young people? The mandatory three-week ‘boot camps’ planned for 18-21-year-olds claiming out-of-work benefits, outlined last month by Cabinet Office minister Matthew Hancock, are only the latest salvo in the government’s punitive approach to young people. Set to be implemented next year, they
In observations made at a side-meeting of the 87th session of the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD),[1] the IRR’s director warned that Europe’s mishandling of the refugee crisis is fuelling racism. I want to talk about the immediate institutional crisis in the EU, as hostility grows towards a modest plan by the European
Dear IRR News subscriber, Earlier this week, Lord Justice Pitchford opened an inquiry into undercover policing and the infiltration of groups and campaigns, including the family of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence and other grieving families. The inquiry ‘provides a unique opportunity to right the wrongs and to develop new thinking on police accountability’, says Suresh
In the last two months, at least thirteen people, two of whom were teenagers, have died trying to reach the UK, and countless others have been injured. The media have concentrated on the chaos at strike-torn Calais and the stress on lorry drivers there, as well as the hardships for holiday-makers as traffic builds up.
