Minority Britons can expect to see a widening racial gap in the British economy
When George Osborne presented the Conservative Budget to parliament a few weeks ago it received a critical review from many corners of civil society. But what has received less coverage is the fact that some are going so far as to call it outright racist.
A recent report put together by Omar Khan, director of racial equality think-tank The Runnymede Trust, has built a compelling case suggesting this new budget will disproportionately hurt Black and Ethnic Minority (BME) communities.
Through a system of tax credit and welfare reforms, it seems that minority Britons can expect to see a widening of the already significant racial gap in the British economy.
So how will the budget hurt BME groups?
Here are just a couple of reforms that will be sure to increase burdens on BME populations and benefit the white population.
An increase in the inheritance tax threshold
With Osborne’s new budget, the inheritance tax will no longer take effect until assets reach up to £1 million. Right now, the average White British household holds around £221,000 while Black African households hold only £21,000, and Bangladeshi households hold £15,000.
Because of this already stark gap, very few BME families can hope to receive any benefit from this provision. To be fair, most White households will not benefit from this either, but it’s much, much more likely than for BME households.
Child Tax Credit reform
Did your family decide to have more than two kids? If so, you’ve surpassed the new limit, and you can expect to see a cut to your income via an amended tax credit system. This has a hugely disproportionate impact on Black and Asian families, 24 per cent of which have more than two children, whereas only 8 per cent of White families have more than two children.
Khan points out:
“While ethnic minorities form around 11 per cent of households and 14 per cent of the UK population, we expect them to be over 15 per cent of households and around 25 per cent of individuals worst affected by the budget – because of their younger age, higher child poverty, lower wages, fewer pensioners and greater part-time working.”
Individuals and families with a Bangladeshi background can expect to be affected most negatively by the new budget. The study finds that about half of the Bangladeshi population,which totals about 225,000 people, will lose out by about £1,000.
Was this an oversight on the part of CCHQ and senior figures in the Conservative Party who put together and approved this new budget?
It’s hard to say for sure. But a spokesperson for the Treasury claimed: “HMT has fully considered equality impacts on different protected groups”. If this is true, then Osborne needs to hire better policy researchers.
Varinder Singh is a councillor in the London Borough of Redbridge and works for an MP
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17 Responses to “Ethnic minority Britons will be disproportionately affected by Conservative cuts”
Freya_267
I’m really appalled by the bigoted views expressed in the comments section by individuals who are clearly affiliated to Samuel Hooper (a UKIP voter) and the Conservative Party.
Why don’t these offended voices comment on the disproportionate impact of Tory Party policy on Britain’s BME communities? They’ll be calling for the poor and disadvantaged to be castrated next!
JoeDM
If they don’t like it they can always go back to where they came from.
JoeDM
Having several wives is, of course, illegal in the UK. It’s called bigamy.
But only normal white British people will ever be charged with it.
Islamics get away with it all the time
MahmudH
Yeah, then you can send the royal family back to Germany, or Greece, whichever they like, but it’s not easy to find a new job in Greece.
MahmudH
Polygamy is actually very rare amongst Muslims in Britain, and fairly unusual in most Muslim majority countries except amongst mega rich oil barons.
But since you mention parental care and encouragement, you might have noticed that the highest rates of single parenthood in the UK are not among Muslims. In addition there may not be much bigamy amongst the non-muslim population, but there is plenty of adultery and divorce to cause children emotional distress and leave them neglected.