An extract from the speech delivered by Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch explains her proposal to remove the public sector equality duty from the Equality Act. She described the duty as subjective and lacking clear rules, arguing that it has created legal risks for public bodies and led to questionable outcomes in areas such as prison management and police recruitment. Badenoch stated that a future Conservative government would repeal the duty entirely. The Equality and Human Rights Commission chair has previously highlighted evidence of positive effects from the duty on equality practices in public organisations. Government guidance describes the duty as requiring listed public authorities to consider how their policies and services affect people with protected characteristics and to monitor resulting impacts. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised decisions by some Reform UK-led councils to remove the Ukrainian flag from public buildings, calling such actions risks to international relations. Reform UK representatives maintained that the policy does not indicate reduced support for Ukraine and emphasised displaying only the British flag on UK public property. The debate follows recent public discussion of a murder case and claims regarding police priorities, with Badenoch linking perceived issues in policing to the equality duty.
