Brits Must ‘Guard Against Normalisation Of Racism’, Minister Warns

A cabinet minister has urged Britons to “guard against the normalisation of racism” coming from some right-wing politicians.

Bridget Phillipson accused prominent members of both Nigel Farage’s Reform UK and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservative Party of questioning Brits’ identity “on the basis of their skin colour”.

The equalities minister’s remarks come after former Tory prime minister Rishi Sunak warned in The Sunday Times there is a risk “we start equating skin colour with nationality”.

Sunak, the UK’s first non-white PM, said immigration debates are starting to focus on “trying to turn Britishness into a DNA test”.

“Once we say that this or that person isn’t really English or British because they are not white, then we are on a very slippery slope,” he said.

“Some people will argue that English is an ethnic identity and British a civic identity. Though if you think those nuances are heard by most people, I fear you are being rather — perhaps even wilfully — naive.”

Phillipson told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “We are a fantastically successful country in terms of integration, in terms of the real strength we draw from that.

“But I find it extremely disturbing that it has become normalised in frontline politicians, both in Reform and the Conservatives, to question people’s British identity on the basis of their skin colour.”

Both Reform and the Conservative Party have been approached for comment.

The Labour Party chair continued: “My family come here from Ireland, built a life here, work in our NHS, and made such a big contribution but no one questions my identity, and that’s because I’m white.

“I’m really worried about what we are seeing around the questioning of the integrity and the identity of people who have a different skin colour.

“I think that is profoundly un-British, it is not in keeping with our traditions and I’m really pleased to see people like Rishi Sunak standing up and making very clear that actually it’s a good thing he could be the prime minister for our country – and I do believe with that.”

“We have to really guard against the normalisation of racism that we are seeing in our country,” she added.

The debate comes after Reform’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf was accused of “straight-up racism” by a minister earlier this month.

Yusuf had questioned Labour’s candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, a Labour council leader, because she was born in Somalia.

The Conservative’s first Muslim chair, peer Baroness Warsi, called the party “institutionally xenophobic and racist” back in 2024.

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