Diversity zealots have created a dangerous new religion – we must get serious about taking them on

IT is all too easy to view the past through the prism of the present and then use the new orthodoxy to settle old scores. Today that orthodoxy is called ‘Diversity, Equality and Inclusion’. The new ‘DEI’ sector came about as a by-product of the rights culture created by a combination of New Labour’s Human Rights Act and the Equality Act.

The plight of women like Maya Forstater, who lost her job after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex, are all part of this long tail of Blairism.

Her legal fight ultimately ended in a triumph for common sense and freedom of speech. But how did we get to a point where stating the facts of biology could get you sacked?

Whenever ministers point out these problems, people - quite rightly - ask: ‘What are you doing about it?’.

And so, as the Attorney General, I ordered my officials to brief me on the diversity training going on in the Government Legal Department.

I was horrified to discover that hundreds of government lawyers spent nearly 2,000 hours of their taxpayer-funded time last year attending lectures on ‘micro-incivilities’, different ‘lived experiences’ and ‘how to be a straight ally’, courtesy of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights charity Stonewall.

The experts on ‘white privilege’ who shared their insights were cited as authoritative but they all subscribed to the left-wing view on race, gender and sexuality which permeated their training materials.

I’d encourage other ministers to ask to see their departments’ diversity programmes and scrutinise the value for money they offer. After all, the ‘diversity’ agenda thrives in darkness.

Government lawyers are told that if a black person says something is offensive, then it is offensive, and they don’t have a right to question it. How does that fit with the rule of law, or due process?

This kind of thinking is harmful in other departments, but in legal cases it’s downright dangerous. It does nothing to create solidarity and encourage support but rather keeps emphasising difference, creates a sense of ‘otherness’ and pits different groups against each other.

Well, I’ve told my officials to scrap it. We really must get serious about taking on this divisive mindset and call it out for what it is: a new religion with a new priestly caste.

Some zealots believe in it. Like the witch-finders of the Middle Ages, they don the outfit of the inquisitor and never tire of rooting out unbelievers. Others wear the priestly robes to ward off their rivals, while still others nod along and recite the creed because they are too scared to dissent.

None of these approaches are acceptable in modern Britain. I’m all for building an inclusive workplace which is meritocratic and welcoming, but to focus relentlessly on dividing us into different cohorts rather than on building camaraderie based on unifying values is misguided.

This is something Liz Truss has been very good on. She told the Tory conference that we ‘reject the zero-sum game of identity politics, we reject the illiberalism of cancel-culture, and we reject the soft bigotry of low expectations’.

That’s the kind of Conservative Party I want to be a member of. It’s the kind of Britain that I believe in.

In government, I’ve seen her working hard to fight this pernicious identity politics, which is stifling our potential just as surely as the high tax burden. I’m especially glad she’s committed to scrapping diversity jobs across Whitehall. BRITAIN needs a lot of things but it certainly doesn’t need woke commissars policing our thoughts. We need to worry less about what people say on Twitter, and more about ensuring passports arrive on time, GP appointments are available when needed, and the police turn up when you’ve been burgled.

Diversity jobs may have been created with good intentions, but it’s clear they are now part of the problem, not the solution.

Suella Braverman has been the Attorney General for England and Wales since 2020