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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/oct/11/shaun-bailey-offensive-comments-london-mayor-candidate
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| Shaun Bailey’s offensive comments make him unfit to be London mayor | Shaun Bailey’s offensive comments make him unfit to be London mayor |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Unsavoury comments made by Shaun Bailey, the Conservative party’s candidate for London mayor, have surfaced over the past few days. A report he wrote for the Centre for Policy Studies in 2005 – No man’s land – unearthed over the weekend, is a treasure trove of offence, managing to slight single mothers, working-class Londoners, black families, Muslims, Hindus and young women in one fell swoop. | Unsavoury comments made by Shaun Bailey, the Conservative party’s candidate for London mayor, have surfaced over the past few days. A report he wrote for the Centre for Policy Studies in 2005 – No man’s land – unearthed over the weekend, is a treasure trove of offence, managing to slight single mothers, working-class Londoners, black families, Muslims, Hindus and young women in one fell swoop. |
| Bailey’s hits include: accommodating Diwali leads to community breakdown and crime; single motherhood is “wrongly assumed to be acceptable” by society; the working class needs “rules”; and giving out contraception to young people encourages them to have sex. In response, Bailey has received racist abuse, which is unacceptable. Also, 2005 is more than a decade ago – people make mistakes and views change as we gain experience. | Bailey’s hits include: accommodating Diwali leads to community breakdown and crime; single motherhood is “wrongly assumed to be acceptable” by society; the working class needs “rules”; and giving out contraception to young people encourages them to have sex. In response, Bailey has received racist abuse, which is unacceptable. Also, 2005 is more than a decade ago – people make mistakes and views change as we gain experience. |
| But he has defended his comments, claiming that we will never “tackle the problems facing some of our poorest communities if we only listen to career politicians” – without a whimper of admission that he is himself a career politician. And the Conservative party has not condemned his comments either, invoking the supposed enemy of modern conservatism, “identity politics”, and using anecdotal evidence to lampoon critics. The No man’s land report does not cite any data and uses just a few case studies. | But he has defended his comments, claiming that we will never “tackle the problems facing some of our poorest communities if we only listen to career politicians” – without a whimper of admission that he is himself a career politician. And the Conservative party has not condemned his comments either, invoking the supposed enemy of modern conservatism, “identity politics”, and using anecdotal evidence to lampoon critics. The No man’s land report does not cite any data and uses just a few case studies. |
| If the Conservatives want to have success with London’s black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and unite all Londoners, Bailey should disown these comments and offer real policy solutions based on evidence. BAME people make up 41% of London’s population, and he will need to win us over to beat Sadiq Khan in the 2020 election. Emphasising that he is “a descendant of the Windrush generation” will not cut it. | If the Conservatives want to have success with London’s black, Asian and minority ethnic communities and unite all Londoners, Bailey should disown these comments and offer real policy solutions based on evidence. BAME people make up 41% of London’s population, and he will need to win us over to beat Sadiq Khan in the 2020 election. Emphasising that he is “a descendant of the Windrush generation” will not cut it. |
| Bailey was right to say sex education needs to be more relevant for young people. Nearly half (47%) of secondary school pupils say that sex and relationship education programmes do not cover what they need to know. But stating that free condoms “encourage” sex and good-looking girls “tend to have been around” is clearly not helpful. Instead Bailey should be offering plans to increase the number of sexual health clinics in London, where patients are being turned away from some clinics due to demand. | Bailey was right to say sex education needs to be more relevant for young people. Nearly half (47%) of secondary school pupils say that sex and relationship education programmes do not cover what they need to know. But stating that free condoms “encourage” sex and good-looking girls “tend to have been around” is clearly not helpful. Instead Bailey should be offering plans to increase the number of sexual health clinics in London, where patients are being turned away from some clinics due to demand. |
| And working-class people do not need paternalistic “rules” to end “the culture of dependency” that Bailey claimed exists. He should set out how, as mayor, he would fight persistent poverty. In the UK, two thirds of children and working-age adults living in poverty are in working households. Tower Hamlets has the highest child poverty rate in the country at a staggering 53%. About 69% of its population is from a BAME background. Outrageously, nearly half of ethnic-minority children in Britain today live in poverty. This should be an urgent concern for all policymakers. | And working-class people do not need paternalistic “rules” to end “the culture of dependency” that Bailey claimed exists. He should set out how, as mayor, he would fight persistent poverty. In the UK, two thirds of children and working-age adults living in poverty are in working households. Tower Hamlets has the highest child poverty rate in the country at a staggering 53%. About 69% of its population is from a BAME background. Outrageously, nearly half of ethnic-minority children in Britain today live in poverty. This should be an urgent concern for all policymakers. |
| Finally, he should learn from Zac Goldsmith’s disastrously divisive campaign that attempted to pit Hindus against Muslims, and disown his comments that respecting Hindu and Muslim holidays “robs Britain of its community” and leads to crime. And it is laughable to suggest that celebrating Christmas is at risk in London schools. | Finally, he should learn from Zac Goldsmith’s disastrously divisive campaign that attempted to pit Hindus against Muslims, and disown his comments that respecting Hindu and Muslim holidays “robs Britain of its community” and leads to crime. And it is laughable to suggest that celebrating Christmas is at risk in London schools. |
| Hate crime is, however, a genuine threat to ethnic-minority Londoners as we approach our exit from the EU. Research has shown that deprivation drives divisions and produces tensions. BAME groups will bear the brunt of this. On whatever terms Brexit takes place, Bailey should focus on how he would use City Hall’s levers to fight any increase in hate crime and cushion any economic impact on the most deprived communities. | Hate crime is, however, a genuine threat to ethnic-minority Londoners as we approach our exit from the EU. Research has shown that deprivation drives divisions and produces tensions. BAME groups will bear the brunt of this. On whatever terms Brexit takes place, Bailey should focus on how he would use City Hall’s levers to fight any increase in hate crime and cushion any economic impact on the most deprived communities. |
| Bailey’s spokesperson says he “looks forward to presenting a vision for London that can unite all Londoners, no matter their background”. I hope it offers an inclusive vision, with solutions instead of opinions, and uses evidence not crude assumptions. | Bailey’s spokesperson says he “looks forward to presenting a vision for London that can unite all Londoners, no matter their background”. I hope it offers an inclusive vision, with solutions instead of opinions, and uses evidence not crude assumptions. |
| • Kimberly McIntosh is policy officer at Race on the Agenda | |
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