The Black Lives Matter movement demands action, not just rhetoric.
Last weekend Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, said of the Black Lives Matter protests: “Thankfully, this is all based in response to events in America rather than here.”
This betrayed an attitude of arrogance, complacency and ignorance. Of course, the brutal murder of George Floyd triggered this moment of mass protest: first in the US and then across the world.
But it has only gathered the momentum in this country, because prejudice, bias and, yes, racism, exists on this side of the Atlantic, too.
Labour does not support how the protesters pulled down the statue of Edward Colston, but it should have been removed democratically a long time ago.
Colston, who smuggled more than 80,000 men, women and children out of Africa to be sold as slaves, does not deserve to be memorialised in Bristol.
The fact that there is even a debate shows there are issues around race in our own society.
Boris Johnson has said he agrees with the phrase “Black Lives Matter”.
This is, of course, welcome, but now the rhetoric must be matched by reform.
While black people make up just 3% of the total population, they make up 12.7% of the population in prison. At the other end of prejudice, only 1% of court judges are black.
We cannot let George Floyd be remembered as just another hashtag. We have to make this a moment of lasting change.
