Two-Thirds of UK Anti-Racism Reforms Ignored, Five Years After Pledges

Commitments Made, Action Deferred

Following a wave of global protests and some soul-searching in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in May 2020, the UK government made a series of robust commitments to tackle systemic racism. There were reports, there were consultations, and the officials said they would step up.

But five years later, an exclusive investigation shows a blunt reality: only a third of recommendations have been adequately acted upon.

While the language was no doubt urgent at the time, our deep dive into government recordkeeping, watchdog reports and interviews with racial equality activists reveals a consistent tale of delay and deflection. The country that once claimed to be a model of multicultural harmony is now facing serious questions about its commitment to racial justice.

The Numbers Behind the Neglect

Our investigation examined 12 major reports and inquiries since 2017, spanning sectors from policing to education, healthcare to employment. Together, they contain over 180 separate recommendations aimed at dismantling structural racism.

Yet as of May 2025, only 61 recommendations (about 34%) have been fully implemented, according to tracking data from equality watchdogs and independent research institutes. Another 52 (29%) have seen “partial” progress meaning a plan has been drafted or a pilot launched, but remain incomplete or inconsistently applied.

The remaining 67 recommendations (37%) have either been ignored, shelved, or quietly abandoned.

“We’ve heard the words. We’ve seen the photo ops. But the action has been superficial,” says Dr. Nadia Thompson, a sociologist at the University of Manchester who co-authored one of the landmark reviews. “The government has managed to package performative gestures as real reform, and the public deserves better.”

From Policing to Classrooms: Gaps in Action

Among the least implemented areas are those concerning policing and criminal justice, where public trust has sharply eroded. The 2021 Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities recommended tighter scrutiny of stop-and-search powers, improved training on unconscious bias, and greater community oversight of police conduct.

To date, only the bias training element has seen broad rollout, and even that is voluntary and patchily adopted. Stop-and-search rates for Black Britons are still nine times higher than for white people.

In education, while there has been some effort to make the curriculum diverse and address attainment gaps, change has been slow. Wales has started integrating Black history into schools, but curriculum change in England has been left to individual schools, therefore impact has been uneven and limited.

“We are still teaching British Empire history through rose-tinted lenses,” says secondary school teacher Khalil Banerjee from Birmingham. “Students are growing up in a world where they don’t see their heritage reflected or respected.”

Mixed Signals from Leadership

Critics argue that the lack of coordination and accountability at the national level is a key reason behind the slow pace. The Equalities Office, while recently facing budget cuts and reduced staffing, has also experienced wavering support from Prime Ministers. Boris Johnson’s government initially proposed “root-and-branch reform”, while his successor, Rishi Sunak, talked about “colorblind meritocracy”, and constructed analysis based on structural reviews.

“There’s been a reframing of racism as an interpersonal issue, not a systemic one,” says Iman Hassan, director of the racial justice charity Voice Forward. “That ignores the real world where policies, not just prejudices, hold people back.”

Real Consequences: The Cost of Delay

The failure to implement key anti-racism policies is not just symbolic—it has real-life implications. Ethnic minorities continue to face disproportionate outcomes in nearly every public metric:

• Black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
• Ethnic minorities make up over 40% of the prison population, despite comprising only 18% of the general public.
• The ethnicity pay gap has barely narrowed, and progress in leadership diversity across sectors has stalled.

“These are not academic debates. These are lives,” says Rohit Sharma, policy director at RaceWatch UK. “Every delay costs opportunity, health, and dignity.”

Campaigners are now urging the government to adopt a transparent accountability framework—complete with deadlines, funding, and public reporting. They are also calling for greater powers for equality watchdogs, and the creation of a dedicated Racial Equity Commissioner to oversee implementation.

While the momentum of 2020 has undeniably faded, the demand for justice has not.

“We’re not looking for apologies anymore,” says Iman Hassan. “We’re looking for action. Measurable, honest action.”

As the UK prepares for its next general election, pressure is mounting. With racial inequality still deeply embedded in the nation’s institutions, the question is no longer what must be done, but rather, why hasn’t it been?

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