In reality, people from ethnic minority backgrounds have higher unemployment rates than white people
Nigel Farage has been criticised for “playing into short-sighted, divisive politics” after making unproven claims that white men are losing jobs due to the Equality Act.
Asked yesterday whether his party would ensure no one loses a job because of their sex, ethnicity or disability, Farage said: “Well, people are losing their jobs now, particularly if they are white, and male and middle-aged.”
“And that’s the problem, that actually something that was designed to stop discrimination becomes in itself discriminatory. The protections you’re talking about were in law way before the 2010 Equalities Act.”
The Equality Act 2010 legally protects people with protected characteristics, including age, disability, gender, race, gender reasssignment, sexuality and religion, from discrimination at work and in society.
On Tuesday, Reform announced that it would immediately scrap the Equality Act if it wins the next general election.
But as reported by The Independent, despite Farage’s claim, the latest government statistics show the opposite to be true.
Between July and September 2025, unemployment among white people in the UK was 4.3%, compared with 8.8% for those from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Dr Shabna Begum, CEO of anti-racism charity the Runnymede Trust, accused Farage of “playing into short-sighted, divisive politics that does nothing to help anyone and instead breeds the politics of grievance and resentment”.
Paul Nowak, General secretary of the Trades Union Congress, accused the Reform leader of “peddling made-up nonsense”.
Nowak told The Independent: “Let’s be clear about what’s really going on here. Reform wants to legalise discrimination and rip up hard-won workplace rights. That isn’t standing up for working people – it’s leaving people at the mercy of bad bosses. It’s a bully’s charter.”
James Douglas, Legal director at the Good Law Project, said scrapping the Act “would reverse all the progress we’ve made since the 1970s”.
“Scare stories about white, middle-aged men losing their jobs don’t hide the fact that by opposing it, Reform have made clear that they don’t believe in equality,” Douglas added.
Lib Dem MP Christine Jardine, who sits on the women and equalities committee, said: “Protecting people who might be vulnerable because of their sex, ethnicity, or disability does not undermine anyone else’s rights.
“It simply creates a level playing field for all of us. Should we always be aware of how we can improve those protections in the act? Yes, but that’s very different from what Reform is suggesting.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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