Extremism Definition and Community Engagement

Baroness Mobarik Excerpts

Tuesday 19th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Swinburne (Con)]

I acknowledge the noble Lord’s comments and recognise many of them. For me, there is no boundary as to where this goes. If somebody is practising extremism that matches the definition—that it is founded in “violence, hatred or intolerance” and poses that threat to our “rights or freedoms”, or our liberal democratic positions that uphold them—they need to be called out. It does not matter whether they are far left or far right, or another other colour or description you would give in between. DLUHC has worked with the Home Office and other government departments, including arm’s-length bodies, agencies and practitioners confronting extremism in our country, as part of this review, so anybody who has had any role in doing this has come together to try to get this definition across the line and to now support the strategy, which will be made public in the next few weeks.

Everyone has a right to freedom of expression. Freedom of speech is a fundamental right that we will always protect in this country, but obviously there are limitations to that if it does damage to others. The definition does not single out single subjects as inherently extremist, but calls for that careful assessment of evidence in relation to any individual organisation or group. In each case, the question is whether they are taking action to advance or promote that ideology with the “violence, hatred or intolerance” in mind. It is very specific, but it is likely to cover a broad swathe from all different parts of the spectrum. I reassure the noble Lord that the expert group will look at this in detail, and will apply the same metrics across the board.

[Baroness Mobarik (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for the reassurances she has given. In our time in the European Parliament, when we served together, I admired my noble friend for her moderate and well-balanced views. But the overwhelming perception of Muslim communities at the moment is that this latest statement by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up is a way to silence them—to stop public discourse. It is extremely worrying. I cannot stress enough just how upset people are; there has to be a way to allay those fears.

Organisations have been named publicly; what evidence has there been to deem them extremist? Would that evidence stand up in a court of law? Where does it all end? If I stand here one day and say, “I believe that there should be an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and the occupation of the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem should be lifted, in a process towards peace and mutual recognition”, and if some people feel that to be extremist in some way, how does that impact any kind of public discourse? I have grave concerns about the way this has been put out and articulated, and the communities that it will impact the most.

Inclusive Society

Baroness Mobarik Excerpts

Wednesday 14th April 2021 Grand Committee

[Baroness Mobarik (Con)]

My Lords, it is universally stated that we are living in an interconnected world, but the sad reality is that we are not yet living in an interconnected country. While as a nation we stand tall, and I agree with my noble friend Lord Dobbs that as a country we have done a great deal, having passed more legislation on race relations and equal opportunities than most other countries, we must admit that we have struggling communities and a dangerous undercurrent of disenfranchisement and social marginalisation.

The pandemic has changed many things and many voices are emerging on what may change as we adapt to this new normality. I will not hypothesise on what may change, but instead, with your Lordships’ indulgence, I will focus on what must change if we are to live up to the ambition of creating a truly inclusive society.

The rising rate of unemployment and the significant changes to labour markets of recent months cannot be ignored. I therefore welcome the Government’s programme of economic support, including the highly praised Kickstart Scheme, which is doing sterling work across the country to create new and, hopefully, long-lasting employment for young people.

This moment in our history will be marked by how we face up to the harsh realities exposed by the pandemic. The statistics speak for themselves and require our immediate attention. In June, we witnessed a blow to gender diversity, with all-male boards returning to the FTSE 350. Gender diversity at the top is fundamental to an inclusive society and I would therefore welcome an update from my noble friend the Minister on what work the Government are doing here to rectify a problem that, if left, will see us slip back into the unsavoury habits of old, and to consider what more could be done to ensure that more women take up trusteeships and stand for election to local councils, so that more women from all backgrounds take up community leadership roles.

We know that those from ethnic minorities have suffered the most, as temporary work and zero-hour contracts ground to a halt throughout the national lockdown, and we know that white males from low-income families are the group least likely to be offered places at university. So, as businesses start to consider how they will operate differently in the future and stand up to these issues of inclusion and diversity, as legislators we must now do the same.

All too often, we try to fix problems such as unemployment retrospectively. I have sat through countless meetings and debates on how we get people back to work, when the conversation we should be having is about how we ensure that future generations have the skills needed for jobs that may not even exist yet. We must move from the band-aid approach on jobs before the wounds in our society become too deep to cover.

All us of know that the bedrock of a truly inclusive society lies in our ability to close the widening skills gap. I ask the Government for an update on what is being done to make sure that we equip our workforce with the right skills to embrace the jobs of the future. Perhaps my noble friend may give further thought to how we can mobilise local government to prioritise future skills needs when considering locally significant commercial planning applications and infrastructure projects.

When I evaluate the digital transformation that we have seen in recent months and our progression through the fourth industrial revolution, I am excited by the opportunities that are waiting on the horizon which will see the United Kingdom become a global leader in areas such as space technology, AI and the green economy. But here lies the challenge: if, for example, we are to develop world-leading space ports in Scotland then we must now turn our attention to upskilling and retraining, particularly in areas such as STEM, so that, when these jobs of the future come, it is the local workforces which stand ready to embrace them.

Finally, as we use phrases such as “build back better”, we should pause and ask ourselves who we are building back better for. We need a fundamental shift in mindset, in which government, local government and the private sector work hand in hand to enable everyone, regardless of their ethnicity or background, to have a stake in society and thus a chance to contribute to the wider good.