HMT “Empire Windrush”: 80th Anniversary

Lord Bailey of Paddington Excerpts

Tuesday 14th April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

I think what we all want to see is that the claimants’ claims are processed quickly and in the most straightforward way possible. I am very happy to meet the group that the noble Lord met yesterday. It is clear that compensation cannot undo the harm that was caused, but the Government remain committed to improving the Windrush compensation scheme to ensure that it reflects the lived experiences of communities and that it can be accessed simply and in a straightforward manner. The fact that 94% of claims have been dealt with now shows some progress in this area.

[Lord Bailey of Paddington (Con)]

My Lords, given the fact that Windrush 80 is a massive opportunity for the Government to continue to welcome people from my community—I am second generation—what work are they doing to make sure that young people are seeing this celebration as an opportunity to lean into their Britishness and not be portrayed as other? We are British, we are proud of being British and we want the Government to acknowledge that in these celebrations.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The noble Lord is quite right to say that the important thing in all this is that we recognise the contribution of both the Windrush generation and the second generation in designing whatever the legacy of Windrush 80 is going to be. As he rightly suggests, that should include young people who are the descendants of the Windrush generation. I hope that significant work will be done with the steering committee to make sure that that happens and that it is the community that designs the lasting legacy.