Britain Agrees Racial Equality Is Slipping, but Not on Why

People from white and ethnic minority backgrounds in Britain believe racial equality is getting worse, according to new research from the thinktank British Future, an independent group that researches policy ideas, reported by The Guardian. The concern crosses demographic lines.

About 62% of ethnic minority Britons described racial inequality as a serious problem, compared with 57% of white respondents. The gap is narrow.

The work rests on two online surveys of 2,009 white adults and 3,014 ethnic minority adults conducted between 30 March and 29 April, supplemented by 12 focus groups. It forms part of a three-year study funded by the Nuffield Foundation.

Nearly half of ethnic minority respondents said they had faced prejudice based on race or nationality over the past year. Rates were notably higher among those aged 18 to 24. Reports were most common in public spaces, followed by on social media and in the workplace.

Views on who is treated better diverge. Among white respondents, 37% said ethnic minorities were treated better than white British people, while 33% disagreed. Among ethnic minority respondents, 23% said ethnic minorities were treated better, while 48% disagreed. Black respondents were more positive about British progress on racial equality, while respondents of Bangladeshi and Pakistani heritage were more pessimistic.

Trust on fair treatment divides by party. The Green Party recorded +15 net trust and Labour recorded +13 net trust on treating people of different backgrounds fairly. Net trust is trust minus distrust. Reform UK recorded -31 net trust, with 16% expressing trust and 47% expressing distrust.

The report sets out 10 recommendations for government. They include challenging zero-sum thinking, supporting grassroots activities and pressing Ofcom on compliance against online racism. Zero-sum thinking means one group's gain is seen as another's loss, like sharing a fixed pie. Grassroots means small, local community projects. British Future director Sunder Katwala leads the thinktank behind the work.

British Future presents itself as working for a confident and welcoming Britain that is inclusive and fair to all, with a remit covering integration and immigration, identity and race, according to British Future. Its stated work areas include understanding shifting attitudes to race and identity in modern Britain and research intended to help anti-prejudice advocates communicate more effectively.

The broader context here is shared pessimism without a shared diagnosis. White and ethnic minority respondents agree on direction but not on severity, cause or remedy. That mismatch matters for policymakers because help framed for one group can be read by another as loss. The figures on who is treated better capture that risk. Without a shared diagnosis, even well-meant steps can stall.

Looking at what this means for delivery, the recommendations point toward local and regulatory levers rather than primary legislation. That puts the focus on streets, workplaces and feeds rather than Parliament. Grassroots activity addresses public spaces and workplaces, where reported prejudice concentrates. Ofcom compliance addresses social media, the second most cited site. Trust gaps by party mean delivery will be filtered through partisan credibility. Young adults, who report the highest exposure, will be the test of whether that approach registers.