On Thursday December 17, Liz Truss, the women and equalities minister, announced the government is adopting a “new approach to equality” in the UK, which is led by “facts not fashion”. Truss said the policy overhaul will be “founded firmly on Conservative values”, and will be less focused on issues surrounding sexuality, race and gender.
She continued: “While it is true people in these groups [e.g. the LGBTQ+ community] suffer discrimination, the focus on protected characteristics has led to a narrowing of the equality debate that overlooks socio-economic status and geographic inequality…This means some issues – particularly those facing white working-class children – are neglected.”
Truss argued: “Too often, the equality debate has been dominated by a small number of unrepresentative voices, and by those who believe people are defined by their protected characteristic, and not by their individual character”, and vowed to “reject the approach taken by the Left, captured as they are by identity politics and loud lobby groups.” She believes too much attention has been given to groups such as Black Lives Matter, saying: “The point is that fashionable causes may be good causes, but it leads to other people and real issues being ignored and neglected.”
LGBTQ+ organisation, Stonewall, criticised the new governmental approach for seemingly turning a blind eye to the issues queer people face: “LGBTQ+ people are part of every community and in every location. We can’t separate experiences of homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, and racism from socio-economic status and geographic location.”