London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jun 02, 2026

Teach British Empire injustice in schools - Labour

Children will be taught about injustice and the role of the British Empire as part of the national curriculum under Labour, the party says.
At the launch of his race and faith manifesto on Tuesday, Jeremy Corbyn will say a new trust will educate on how to address the legacy of slavery.

He will also set out policies on how to combat anti-Semitism in Britain.

The Tories said it was "staggering" to see Labour "lecture people" during a probe over claims of anti-Semitism.

But National Education Union joint general secretary Mary Bousted welcomed Labour's "set of joined-up proposals to proactively tackle racism".

Meanwhile, in a letter to the Times, Ephraim Mirvis, the Orthodox chief rabbi of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, has attacked the "utterly inadequate" response of the Labour leadership in dealing with anti-Semitism allegations.

He said there was anxiety in the Jewish community over a Labour government and he called on the public to "vote with their conscience".

At a launch event in Tottenham, north London, Mr Corbyn - with shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott - will launch the race and faith manifesto with pledges to improve social justice and human rights.

They will say that an "emancipation educational trust" would also be formed "to ensure historical injustice, colonialism and role of the British empire is taught in the national curriculum" if Labour wins the 12 December election.

The trust would educate on migration and how to address the legacy of slavery and teach how it "interrupted a rich and powerful black history".

The national curriculum will also be reviewed by the party to ensure it teaches children about racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia and black history, and to continue education about the Holocaust.

The party says it wants to extend pay gap reporting to BAME groups for businesses with 250 employees or more.

Labour's other proposals include:

Creating a race equality unit within the Treasury, which will review major spending announcements for its impact on BAME communities

Review "rip-off" charges for passports, visas and tests from the Home Office, with a view to lower the cost

Review the under-representation of BAME teachers in schools

An independent review of far-right extremism

On guaranteeing the security of the Jewish community, Labour says it will amend the law to include attacks on places of worship as a specific aggravated offence.

Labour has also pledged to work with social media platforms including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook "to combat the rise of anti-Semitism online".

"Labour has already been working with Facebook to take action against groups and individuals which have hijacked Labour's name to share anti-Semitic content," the party said.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission launched a formal investigation in May into the Labour Party over allegations of anti-Semitism.

It is formally looking into whether Labour has "unlawfully discriminated against, harassed or victimised people because they are Jewish".

At the time, Labour said the party was "anti-racist" and will "fully co-operate" with the investigation.

'Tackle barriers head-on'
Ahead of his speech at the Bernie Grant Arts Centre, Mr Corbyn said Labour "will do everything necessary to guarantee the security of the Jewish community, defend the Jewish way of life and the right to live it freely, and to combat rising anti-Semitism in our country and across Europe".

Mr Corbyn called Labour "the party of equality and human rights" and said it would "tackle head-on the barriers that have unfairly held back so many people and communities".

Ms Butler said: "Only by acknowledging the historical injustices faced by our communities can we work towards a better future that is prosperous for all, that isn't blighted by austerity and the politics of fear."

Conservative Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was "staggering" that Labour "sees fit to lecture people about race and faith" during the anti-Semitism investigation.

Dr Bousted said the National Education Union welcomed the proposal for a "new emancipation educational trust".

"All young people benefit from learning about how human rights were won and about the struggle against colonialism and racial injustice," she said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
Global Critical Mineral Alliances Expand as Western Nations Move to Counter Chinese Supply Dominance
United States Imposes Fifty Percent Tariffs on Mexican Steel and Aluminum Ahead of Trade Pact Review
European Union and China Head Toward Major Trade Conflict Over Clean Technology Exports
United States Economic Growth Severely Downgraded to One Point Six Percent as Stagflation Fears Mount
World Health Organization Warns Central African Ebola Epidemic is Outpacing Containment Efforts
United States Treasury Department Conditions Sanctions Relief on Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz
Iranian Air Defenses Intercept and Destroy United States Military Drone Over Bushehr Province
Iranian Armed Forces Launch Ballistic Missiles Toward Unspecified Targets Prompting Regional Condemnation
United Nations Secretary-General Warns Global Order Facing Highest Level of Conflict Since 1945
Israel Issues Sweeping Evacuation Orders in Southern Lebanon Amid Intensified Hezbollah Conflict
Russia Announces Systemic Military Strikes Targeting Ukrainian Defense and Energy Infrastructure
United States and Iranian Negotiators Reach Draft Agreement to Extend Ceasefire and Resume Nuclear Talks
United Nations Security Council Deeply Divided Over United States Capture of Venezuelan President
US and Iran Exchange Direct Military Strikes Amid Fragile Gulf Ceasefire
World Health Organization Warns of Catastrophic Ebola Outbreak in DR Congo
Russia Threatens New Wave of Strikes on Ukrainian Infrastructure and Embassies
Scientists Warn Atlantic Ocean Currents Could Collapse Faster Than Projected
Anthropic Reaches $900 Billion Valuation in Historic AI Funding Round
Washington Imposes Crippling Sanctions on Iranian Maritime Authority
Japan and the Philippines Initiate Strategic Intelligence-Sharing Pact
Microsoft Deploys Autonomous Computer-Using AI Agents to Global Markets
Anthropic Secures $45 Billion Compute Infrastructure Agreement With SpaceX
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Resigns Amid Administration Shakeup
Micron Technology Crosses Trillion-Dollar Valuation Amid Unprecedented Hardware Demand
Canada and Germany Finalize Historic Long-Term LNG Export Agreement
China Expands International Travel Restrictions on Domestic AI Researchers
Japan Approves Sweeping Overhaul of National Intelligence Apparatus
Global Airlines Scramble Logistics as Middle East Airspace Remains Fractured
Japan's Naphtha Imports Plunge 47 Percent Amid Strait of Hormuz Closure
Global Crude Prices Retreat Below $96 as Gulf Tensions Momentarily Ease
Generative AI Outperforms Human Baselines in Landmark Global Creativity Study
NASA Partners With Private Aerospace to Unveil Permanent Lunar Base Architecture
South Korean Equity Markets Surge on Next-Generation Memory Chip Frenzy
×