Is the UK a racist country

[bubblebabble]

Hi there, just wanted to get your views on this. I've been following the Tory hustings and am very shocked that people prefer Truss to Sunak when clearly, he's more intelligent and capable.
It makes me wonder if racism is at play and people can't handle a non-white PM in this country?

Of course there is racism here, like everywhere, but I don't think that is the issue here: Sunak acting like a complete arrogant and interrupting mansplaining asshole during the debates may have something to do with it. Not his race.

Yes but he's up against Truss who is equally a scary proposition for this country.

Out of the two undesirable options, will one be more undesirable because he's also brown?

WTAF

I don’t have much to add but I feel the same. Sunak is clearly being held to a higher standard for some reason.

How's the ethnic diversity of the political landscape in South Asia?

Hello, are you a troll bot or just racist?

Given that none of the countries in that part of the world have ruled a quarter of the globe, like Britain did, it's pretty appropriate based on it geo-political history.

I agree with a previous post, I live in London and only feel it when I'm outside of London. I lived in the suburbs for 4 years and it took me that long to realise what was bothering me so much. The racism is so incredibly subtle, it's not always in your face pointing and swearing but so under handed I thought I was going mad. So yes I agree it's everywhere but not always immediately obvious.

this

yes ite because hes brown
nothing to do with the fact he and his wife are hoarding gold like dragons.

It's not that he's rich that's the problem, it's the stuff about his wife not paying tax. He was really popular until people found out about that.

She reminds the twin set and pearl briggade of thatcher. I don't think the people that will have a vote are even intelligent enough to base their decision on competence.

The Tory faithful will break out in hives. Most of them still have imperial nostalgia.

Rubbish. Very few people are alive today who had any experience of the "Empire". For anyone born after the Second World War the Empire is only part of a history lesson (and not one to be proud of). Of course there is racism everywhere but not for this reason.

Just to make it clear I don't understand why anyone would dislike someone on the basis of their skin colour or where they came from.

In the end, the decision on who wins the leadership contest is made by the party not the general public. I expect the final decision will be made on what benefits the party as a whole rather than racism. I think there's a lot of MPs who really want the top job for themselves so they may vote for someone they perceive as weaker so they can try another leadership contest sooner rather than later.

I therefore think this isn't a particularly useful way to determine whether the UK is racist or not. You probably need to ask people about their first hand experiences or question how you are treated by others to get a more realistic view of the UK and racism.

We only really know what goes on with the tory leadership from the media and newspapers in my view aren't particularly neutral sources of information.

Of course there is racism in the UK, and there is plenty of it in the Tory party, but I don't personally think that's the issue here. There is also plenty of misogyny, but Liz Truss seems to be storming ahead regardless.

I don't think it matters that Rishi is rich, either. The Tories don't really care about that, although some of them probably will be wary about accusations that they have elected yet another public school boy. I don't think they would let that stand in the way though, if they really wanted Rishi.

I think the real obstacles are much simpler than that. Firstly, a huge number of Tories didn't want Boris to go, and they see Rishi as having stabbed him in the back. Secondly, Rishi has been relatively honest about the situation that we're facing whereas Liz Truss is promising tax cuts and pretending that this will fix everything. This kind of right wing rhetoric really appeals to the Tory membership, who are probably too ignorant to recognise that her plans spell economic disaster. Whether Liz Truss intends to keep her promises and trash the country, or whether she will tear them up in favour of something a bit more sensible once she is in power remains to be seen, but for the time being, she is telling the Tory membership what they want to hear. Meanwhile, Rishi is being a bit more honest about what we're facing and the Tories don't want to hear it.

I've been following the Tory hustings and am very shocked that people prefer Truss to Sunak when clearly, he's more intelligent and capable.

I think a paper bag is clearly more intelligent and capable than Liz Truss. And more useful. But there are plenty of people who will agree with her policies more than they agree with his. And then yes, some people will be racist. But it's not like there are no legitimate reasons to dislike him. I don't see myself voting Tory whichever one of them gets in.

He did make his money on his own.

Sunak? Not the vast majority of it he didn't. It's his wife's money that puts him on the Rich List. Not that I hold that against him, but it's just not true to say he made his money on his own.

It is not the U.K. public choosing the next PM it is a tiny minority of Tory members, of which over 90% are aged over 60 and white. This is why the polls are consistently showingTruss way ahead of Sunak.

It’s the Green Card OP, in my opinion. He had an escape plan for if everything failed. Plus his wife’s non dom business, it might not have been against the law but people saw it as immoral.

Everywhere is racist. UK much less so than most countries. Truss being in the lead isn’t racist. (And by the way Sunak will win because when it comes to voting in private people are always more sexist than racist - look at Obama v Clinton.)

Why on earth do you think Sunak is more intelligent than Truss? I think he was a disaster with his stupid “eat out to help out” policy encouraging people to pack into restaurants in the middle of a pandemic. An intelligent man would have subsided takeaways, but no he only subsidised sit down meals. What a dimwit. His furlough policy wasn’t thought through either, and lost a fortune to fraud, all the tradesment I know were on double income, taking furlough while still secretly working.

Truss on the other hand did great work defending women’s rights from some insane misogynistic trans activism, and also Truss did fantastic diplomacy with Iran/America. She isn’t perfect, I much preferred the other options on the shortlist to either Truss or Sunak but hey that’s the Tory party for you.

Sounds to me like you’re a bit sexist…

Hmm, to me there are two questions here. Is Britain racist, and is that the cause of Sunak not being in the lead in the leadership contest.

To answer the first, yes of course there are still elements of it. Institutional racism and individual. Unfortunately, though the individual racism comes from all quarters. My daughter is really good friends with an Asian girl who has to pretend to see my daughter because her parents won't let her hang out with the white girl as she'll lead her astray. She's not allowed to come here on sleepovers (only to other Asian houses), or even for socialising. My daughter is only allowed there to study, and only when the parents are around. So yes, racism is very much alive and in all quarters.

As for the Sunak question, he would be my choice to be pm, but I do think there are some big reasons why he won't,

Whilst you're right Truss went to Oxford, she also went to state comprehensive school. For some, who have had enough of the Rich Toryboy image (Johnson, Cameron), she will appeal and may be seen to have wider appeal outside of the party for that reason.

His money is seen as problematic as well as the non dom status of his wife, his green card status etc. Some feel he and his wife played the system, her claiming non dom whilst living in number 11 and sending their kids to a British school.

I agree with the points namechange made up thread. Truss says a lot more right thing things and models herself on Thatcher, which will appeal, even if it in not honest or good for the country,

But I think Sunak's biggest problem is that he is seen to have stabbed Johnson in the back, and many of the party faithful bizarrely still really liked Boris,

To answer the first, yes of course there are still elements of it. Institutional racism and individual. Unfortunately, though the individual racism comes from all quarters. My daughter is really good friends with an Asian girl who has to pretend to see my daughter because her parents won't let her hang out with the white girl as she'll lead her astray. She's not allowed to come here on sleepovers (only to other Asian houses), or even for socialising. My daughter is only allowed there to study, and only when the parents are around. So yes, racism is very much alive and in all quarters.

We had this as well - child was a Somalian Muslim though. She wasn't allowed to come to our house as we have a dog and dogs are "haram" the little girl told me that herself - fair enough. In the end her mother moved her to another school as she and my dd wouldn't stop being friends. We see her around still as they live near by but she and my dd don't acknowledge each other anymore.

Do the parents not allow her to hang out with any white kids, or just your daughter?

"Do the parents not allow her to hang out with any white kids, or just your daughter?"

From my understanding, it's limited access to white females, no sleepovers at all and absolutely no friendships at all with white males, even gay ones or those who are dating other girls.

So my daughter used to drive her home some days, but when my daughter was taking her boyfriend home, the friend wasn't allowed in the car... she would get out a few streets before and pretend she got the bus back.

All the Asian parents that I’ve known who didn’t allow sleepovers didn’t actually allow them with other Asian families either. In the case above, she was okay to be seen with her white female friend but didn’t want to be seen with a male. I doubt she’d been okay to be seen with an asian male too.

I had a good Hindu friend at uni and she was telling me about her muslim friend and how she wasn’t allowed sleepovers, wasn’t a race issue more a religious thing where they thought she’d be exposed to ‘forbidden’ things. Not saying these people can’t be racist though but a lot of the time it’s more about controlling the girls and fear of the girls going ‘astray’ ie if they’re not allowed boyfriends and the parents know said friend is allowed a boyfriend then they’ll be fearful of that influence, regardless of colour of girl or boy, none of which is okay in my books as there are a lot of double standards -many times the same parents wouldn’t be so bothered if their sons were hanging around white females or females generally.