The anniversary of the arrival of the Empire Windrush at Tilbury Docks in 1948 comes at an incredibly powerful moment for our country.
Over seven decades later, the killing of George Floyd sparked the Black Lives Matter movement that quickly spread across the USA and the world. We have seen a particularly strong reaction to that call for change here in the UK - and little wonder. Compounded injustices over generations have created deep frustrations and hurt, which the Black Lives Matter movement powerfully spoke to.
The brave testimonies Black people have shared about the impact racism has on their lives – and their family histories – have underlined that there is an undeniable case for action.
Addressing unfairness and injustice begins at the door of the Home Office, with the appalling mistreatment of the Windrush Generation. The Windrush scandal is a national cause of shame – and the recently published Wendy Williams Lessons Learned Review is a damning indictment. It exposes the callousness and incompetence that caused such deep injustice, whilst making clear the impact of “jobs lost, lives uprooted and untold damage done to so many individuals and families”.
The families – who have given so much to this country – deserve so much more. The review sets out a wide range of recommendations, a large number which are hard-hitting and urgent. They include the need for the Home Office to set a clear purpose, mission and values statement rooted in fairness, humanity, openness, diversity and inclusion. They call for vital action on issues related to race and the need for better community outreach and engagement. It’s shocking that it would take a scandal on this scale to bring those core failings to light.
It is vital that the recommendations in the report are delivered now. However, the signs are not encouraging. The Home Secretary has yet to come back to the House of Commons and formally respond to the review, setting out what actions she will take. This is ominous: as we have seen with the Lammy Review, the government are often quick to call reviews and slow to act. That report was published in 2017, yet its core elements remain on the shelf.
Where the government has acted, progress has been appallingly slow. With generations damaged by Windrush scandal in unimaginable ways, the Government’s Windrush Compensation Scheme managed to compensate just 60 people in its first year of operation.
Little wonder the reception was so bad for the Prime Minister’s recent announcement of yet another review on racial inequality, when the case for urgent action and the steps needed are so clear. The reality is that, yet again, he has been found wanting in this important national moment.
The anniversary of Windrush should be a moment to celebrate the enormous contribution that the Windrush Generation and their families have made to the fabric of this country, in every facet of national life, our NHS and transport systems, across the public and private sectors, the arts, culture, religion and sports.
However, while injustices persist, only thanking the Windrush Generation is not enough. We must repeat – loudly – the urgent call for action from the Government to ensure that such a national scandal never happens again.
Nick Thomas-Symonds is the shadow home secretary and Labour MP for Torfaen