Today [Tuesday 9th June 2026] will announce the
Conservative Party's plan to scrap Public Sector Equality Duty in
a major speech.
In her speech, is expected to say:
The speech I am giving today is the result of work we have been
doing over many months.
In March, I gave a speech about separatism and how we need to
remove identity politics from public life.
I asked respected barrister to advise me on how we do
this... and bring back the principle of meritocracy and equality
under the law.
There are so many problems to fix. Many of them are currently as
a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty in the Equality
Act.
It is a Duty that is subjective... with no clear rules... and
whatever its intention... in practice, it has become a minefield
that exposes almost every significant public decision to legal
challenge.
A court recently found that prison officials had breached their
Duty because their separation of prisoners was disproportionately
affecting Muslims convicted of Islamic terrorism.
These terrorists could now be eligible for compensation.
This is madness.
This Duty is compromising security decisions... like isolating
dangerous criminals... in case the terrorists call us
racists.
Far from equal outcomes... this duty is leading to ludicrous
outcomes...
Like the Norfolk Constabulary telling a job applicant that
because of her gender critical' views [biological sex is
real!]... she would not be suitable'.
The Public Sector Equality Duty has turned equality into a
zero-sum game where some groups are preferred over others.
And the more public bodies chase equality of outcome... the
further they move from equal treatment.... and equality under the
law.
That's why I can announce today that a Conservative government
will repeal the Public Sector Equality Duty in its entirety.
I spent my time in government playing whack-a-mole, stopping
people from doing the wrong thing only to discover they restarted
it as soon as I looked away.
So we are going to scrap this Duty altogether.
We do not need to replace it.
We need to explain to people that they should do their
jobs.
