Runnymede Trust

The 2025 Claire Dwyer Lecture: Dr Shabna Begum Reflections on the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Race Relations Act

👤 Speaker spotlight: Dr Shabna Begum
CEO @runnymedetrust.bsky.social | Author | Researcher on race, migration + activism

Join us on 25 Nov as she reflects on the 1965 Race Relations Act and its lessons for today.

🎟 Free → tinyurl.com/ucl-begum

#ClaireDwyerLecture #UCLGeography #RacialJustice

These latest findings demand a different conversation, one that asks how we can really keep our communities safe and prevent harm.

No training initiatives, no amount of diversity, and no accountability mechanisms will ever be sufficient. An institution so fundamentally flawed cannot be reformed.

We need to take the safety of our communities seriously and treat people's needs with care and dignity.

For decades, reports and inquiries - from MacPherson to Casey - have identified institutional racism, only to be met with inadequate proposals that fail to address the scale, scope, and entrenched nature of racism within the force.

Secret BBC filming exposes hidden culture of racism and misogyny inside Met Police Panorama undercover investigation captures evidence that "toxic behaviours", far from being driven out of the Met, have been driven underground.

Racism is baked into the Met’s systems, culture, and decision-making processes, producing persistent harm for Black Londoners and staff.

Only weeks ago, BBC Panorama exposed violent racism within the Met Police.

Anti-black discrimination systemic in Met Police, report finds Report author Dr Shereen Daniels said systemic racism was "not a matter of perception".

We are unsurprised by the latest review which concludes what we have known for decades: the Metropolitan Police is institutionally racist.

As Dr Shereen Daniels' independent review states, this is not simply a matter of ‘bad apples’.

Response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review Education as a key site through which we progress racial justice. We remain committed to a rich and inclusive curriculum that benefits all students.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review: our response.

www.runnymedetrust.org/news/respons...

Sixty years on from the Race Relations Act In the winter of 1965, Harold Wilson’s Labour government passed the landmark Race Relations Act, the first piece of legislation in the UK that aimed to outlaw racial discrimination in public places. A...

This November marks the 60th anniversary of the passing of the Race Relations Act, but was the law as progressive as the British state tends to remember, and what are the parallels to today?

Read the latest article by Hannah Francis on our blog ✍️ ow.ly/NiOz50XnCyM

Researcher Runnymede is the UK's leading independent race equality think tank.

Want to join our research team?

We're looking for an experienced professional to conduct new quantitative and qualitative research on race and inequalities in the UK.

Closing date Sunday 23 Nov 2025, 23:59 GMT.

www.runnymedetrust.org/careers/rese...

This is something @aaronwinter.bsky.social and I explored in our report for the @runnymedetrust.bsky.social in the lead up to the 2024 election

Once more, the key question is not whether immigration is a popular concern, but why it has been made so

www.runnymedetrust.org/publications...

New @yougov.co.uk polling confirms what we and others have been saying for years.

It's time politicians and media stopped behaving as though immigration is the only issue that people care about - an agenda that fuels fear, hate and racism - and focus instead on what people actually want and need.

Two of the Peer Researchers stand holding a file which says 'We demand a fairer housing system'. They're both smiling.

Everyone should have a safe and secure home, free from racism and discrimination.

But we know that isn't always the case. That's why we’re asking you to share your own stories of racism when trying to access a social home.

You can make a big contribution. Please share here: shltr.org.uk/gfQOW

The Renters Rights Act is a critical starting point to addressing deep failures within our current housing system. We will continue to advocate until everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home.

There is also considerable evidence which outlines how Right to Rent checks - a deliberate feature of the government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies - cause indirect racial discrimination against renters. We remain steadfast that Right to Rent checks should be abolished.

The legislation fails to address skyrocketing, unaffordable rents within the private rented sector. 44% of the average UK wage is now spent on rent. Rent controls and rent caps would give more safety and security to renters and protect them from disproportionate rent spikes.

The Renters Rights Act will extend Awaab’s Law and a new Decent Home Standard to the private rented sector, so that all renters are empowered to challenge dangerous living conditions, and private landlords are accountable for unsafe homes.

However, there are gaps in the Renters Rights Act.

According to the English Housing Survey, Black and Brown households, specifically private renters, are more likely to live in indecent homes riddled with mould and damp.

Black people in England four times as likely to face homelessness, study finds Black people also less likely than white people to get social housing and can face ‘overt racism’ from private landlords

A recent study from @heriotwattuni.bsky.social found that Black people in England are four times as likely to face homelessness as white people, and substantially less likely to get social housing.

Measures which will grant renters greater protections, including scrapping Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, are a welcome shift.

By pushing people into ‘temporary accommodation’ or onto the streets, Section 21s are a leading driver of homelessness, which disproportionately impacts people of colour.

The Renters Rights Bill has become law. This is a huge step towards addressing our broken housing system, which has been achieved through fierce campaigning from civil society across the board.

While extremely welcome, there are still gaps. Here’s what you need to know 🧵

The Renters Rights Bill is a critical starting point to addressing deep failures within our current housing system. We will continue to advocate until everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home.

There is also considerable evidence which outlines how Right to Rent checks - a deliberate feature of the government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies - cause indirect racial discrimination against renters. We remain steadfast that Right to Rent checks should be abolished.

The legislation fails to address skyrocketing, unaffordable rents within the private rented sector. 44% of the average UK wage is now spent on rent. Rent controls and rent caps would give more safety and security to renters and protect them from disproportionate rent spikes.

The Renters Rights Bill would extend Awaab’s Law and a new Decent Home Standard to the private rented sector, so that all renters are empowered to challenge dangerous living conditions, and private landlords are accountable for unsafe homes.

However, there are gaps in the Renters Rights Bill.

According to the English Housing Survey, Black and Brown households, specifically private renters, are more likely to live in indecent homes riddled with mould and damp.

A recent study from @heriotwattuni.bsky.social found that Black people in England are four times as likely to face homelessness as white people, and substantially less likely to get social housing.

Measures which will grant renters greater protections, including scrapping Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, are a welcome shift.

By pushing people into ‘temporary accommodation’ or on to the streets, S21’s are a leading driver of homelessness, which disproportionately impacts people of colour.

The Renters Rights Bill is a critical starting point to addressing deep failures within our current housing system. We will continue to advocate until everyone has access to a safe, secure and affordable home.

There is also considerable evidence which outlines how Right to Rent checks - a deliberate feature of the government’s ‘hostile environment’ policies - cause indirect racial discrimination against renters. We remain steadfast that Right to Rent checks should be abolished.

The legislation fails to address skyrocketing, unaffordable rents within the private rented sector. 44% of the average UK wage is now spent on rent. Rent controls and rent caps would give more safety and security to renters and protect them from disproportionate rent spikes.