Peter Hoskin

The equality landmines that Labour have left the coalition

Oh dear, the Treasury is mired in another controversy about equality after the Guardian published a letter which Theresa May sent to George Osborne before the Budget. In it, she warned that the government could face legal action if it is unable to show that its decisions were made with a consideration to “existing race, disability and gender equality duties.” As she puts it:

“If there are no processes in place to show that equality issues have been taken into account in relate to particular decisions, there is a real risk of successful legal challenge by, for instance, recipients of public services, Trade Unions or other groups affected by these decisions.”

In highlighting this, May was only doing her job – but she has also drawn attention to how the last government wired the legislative process so it could explode in this government’s face. After all, the possibility of legal action is enshrined within Harriet Harman’s Equality Act, which is explained in this

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