3 December 2020 — Institute of Race Relations
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Following the IRR’s concern about the appointment of controversial ‘race iconoclast’ David Goodhart as commissioner at the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and amid revelations about the views of other commissioners, Jenny Bourne sets the debate about the EHRC in historical context by examining the statutory bodies from 1962 till today. CIAC, NICCI, CRC, CRE, EHRC – whatever the initials, the organisations have long held an ambiguous position and struggled to gain community trust. Today, the EHRC, with its tiny budget, reluctance to hit hard, and a set of right-leaning dissentient commissioners, seems dominated by the very interests it is supposedly regulating. Even when the Commission deems the government’s hostile environment policies unlawful, as our recent twitter thread explains, it appears reluctant to mete out any substantial forms of redress. In a week that has seen another deportation flight to Jamaica, the futility of such bodies is laid bare.
