Blick_UK Politics (9780198825555)_CH10

228 Chapter 10  Identity, equality, and power

enforcement role (operating alongside a Human Rights Commission in Scotland). This Commission first came into being under the Equality Act 2006, combining three pre- viously separate commissions—the Disability Rights Com- mission, the Equal Opportunities Commission, and the Commission for Racial Equality—into a single unified entity. The power that the single Commission uses most exten- sively is to assist individuals in bringing cases against dis- crimination, or to bring cases of this type itself. It can also investigate possible violations of the Equality Act 2010 and take enforcement measures where it finds that a breach has occurred. Failure to comply can potentially lead to le- gal action and in some cases the imposition of an unlimited fine. With the agreement of the government, the Commis- sion can also issue codes of practice, for instance to em- ployers on equal pay. It carries out research, disseminates information, and makes policy recommendations (House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee, 2019: 10). Within the UK government, the Government Equalities Of- fice is responsible for the advancement of equality general- ly, including work opportunities and participation in political and public roles (rather than the enforcement role undertak- en by the Equality and Human Rights Commission). It has a focus on promoting the Equality Act 2010; same-sex civil partnership and marriage; LGBT matters; and international commitments pertaining to equality. Ministerial responsibili- ty for the Government Equalities Office is held by a Cabinet member alongside their full departmental portfolio. At the time of writing Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for Inter- national Trade, was also Minister for Women and Equalities. Beyond legal frameworks to protect identity and prevent overt discrimination, identity has an impact on how people participate in politics, as we will discuss next. 10.2.3 Organizing to influence Observers of politics in the UK (and elsewhere in the world) have recently devoted much attention to the idea of ‘ iden- tity politics ’. There is not a precisely agreed definition of this term (Bernstein, 2005: 47–48) but it broadly applies to the idea of people participating in politics on the basis of their characteristics such as religious faith, ethnicity, or gender. In doing so they may seek to further the cause of the particular group they identify with, and resist discrimi- nation against it. This approach is slightly different from the promotion of equality through legal frameworks and public bodies which we have discussed above. Observers who are favourable towards the idea of iden- tity politics see it as a means by which people can, on the basis of their personal characteristics, become more wide- ly engaged and recognize the legitimacy of others (Lichter- man, 1999: 101). Other analysts, however, in particular those

grounded in Marxist theory, are sceptical about identity politics, holding that the best means of advancing social justice is through addressing issues of economic inequality related to the capitalist system and the class structures that are intrinsic to it (Bernstein, 2005: 49). If people, particularly those in minority groups, pursue goals through the political process—either in pursuit of ‘identity politics’ or on a more socio-economic basis—how possible is it for them to go about doing so? Can they re- alistically expect change? There are a variety of means by which members of different social groups can seek, individ- ually or collectively, to achieve influence within society. They might, for instance, vote in an election or join a party that they perceive as representing their interests (see Chapters 6 and 7). As well as engaging in voting, people seeking to promote the interests of particular groups might form or join pressure groups , which campaign for specific causes (see Chapter 7). They might take part in protests. In some cases, efforts to promote the rights of a particular group can enlist wider support. During 2020, for instance, the Black Lives Matter movement attracted participants of varied ethnicity. When we consider the scope for members of particular social groups to exercise power, it is important to assess their attitudes towards the political process and their involvement with it. The annual Hansard Society ‘Audit of Political Engage- ment’ opinion poll provides insight in this area. The 2019 au- dit (Hansard Society, 2019: 16–28) found that some of the UK’s population are highly sceptical of the political system: 63 per cent of people believed that the UK ‘system of gov- ernment is rigged to advantage of the rich and powerful’ and 41 per cent disagreed or disagreed strongly with the propo- sition ‘that political involvement can change the way the UK is run’. When asked in the audit how much influence they felt they had over the making of decisions, 47 per cent replied that they believed they did not have any at UK level; and 42 per cent felt they had none at local level. Questioned about the kinds of political participation they had entered into over the past twelve months, 53 per cent replied none at all. However, under these headline figures, there were some important social differentials in terms of belief in or scepticism about the political system and political involve- ment. Figure 10.6 shows divergence in whether people think political involvement is an effective activity across sex, age, social grade, and ethnicity. These data show that—for example—more men feel that political involvement is effective than women, and more people in the BME category (Black and Minority Ethnic) the survey used were optimistic about the prospects for this ac- tivity to make a difference than those in the white category. The relative optimism of some of these groups, howev- er, did not necessarily translate into active participation, as demonstrated by Figure 10.7. A comparison of Figure 10.6 and Figure 10.7 shows that the young and members of the least privileged social grades might be relatively positive

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