London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 03, 2026

Term ‘white privilege’ disadvantages white working-class kids, MPs’ report finds, reigniting Britain’s race row

Term ‘white privilege’ disadvantages white working-class kids, MPs’ report finds, reigniting Britain’s race row

A new report which claims the term “white privilege” can be “divisive” and disadvantgaes the white working class has sparked fresh debate on “racist Britain", with some accusing the government of deflecting from its own errors.

The report by MPs on the Education Select Committee, released on Monday, has caused a stir, after it suggested that white working-class children have been left behind, partially due to potentially “divisive” terms such as “white privilege.”

The Education Select Committee, which consists of serving MPs, accused the Department for Education (DfE) of failing to realise the extent of the challenge which had left working-class kids behind for generations.

Conservative MP and committee chairman Robert Halfon said Britain “desperately” needs to “move away from dealing with racial disparity by using divisive concepts like white privilege that pits one group against another," adding: “Disadvantaged white children feel anything but privileged when it comes to education.”

The report has been widely condemned by Twitter’s serial complainers, with many accusing the committee of siding with Boris Johnson’s non-woke Tory government. The report’s findings broadly reflect views already expressed by the controversial Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities which was set up following Black Lives Matter activities in 2020. The commission had been accused of whitewashing a report into discrimination in the UK.

Commenting on the new report, British author Eve Ainsworth said she had always been aware of her “white privilege” despite her working-class background and denounced Johnson’s “elitist” government for not being able to separate the two.


Activist and outspoken leftist Femi Oluwole was also quick to defend the use of the term “white privilege” and seemed to question whether the white working class really were disadvantaged by their situation.

“Like most black kids, my parents told me I needed to work twice as hard as the white kids at school in order to succeed. Turned out to be a statistical fact,” he wrote, adding ironically that the Tories seem to believe educational inequality stems from racism against white kids.


Others dismissed the committee’s findings entirely and blasted Conservative austerity instead.

“The “systemic neglect” of white working-class pupils is due to teaching concepts like “#WhitePrivilege,” rather than, say, 10-years of ideologically-driven austerity?” the Northern Independence Party, a left-wing party demanding independence for Northumbria and beyond, wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, some were keen to share more sympathetic perspectives and the report generated plenty of support from Brits who want to push back against the BLM movement, notably the groups that demand British pupils learn about “white privilege.”

Journalist and former MEP Martin Daubney welcomed the report, noting that white kids have been left behind due to the “toxic myth” that is “white privilege.”

Another person questioned the psychological impact of teaching a young child the concept of being privileged because of their skin colour, claiming the term is the “most racist” imaginable.

Others made jibes that those who support the term “white privilege.” One wrote: “Back in the 80’s when my cleaning job, outside a building on The Strand, meant I used to have to roll human shit onto a shovel every day, I always took a moment to check my #WhitePrivilege.”

Amid the ongoing row on racism in Britain in the aftermath of the BLM movement, the report highlights that the UK’s white working-class kids are perennially under-performers compared to all non-white counterparts.

With regards to A-level and college exams, only 16% of white British pupils, who are given free school meals due to their financial position, get university places. By comparison, 59% of black African pupils on free meals and 59% of Bangladeshi pupils on free meals, get their university places.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Eleven British Seafarers Receive Merchant Navy Medal
Which? Creates Fake 10 Downing Street Rental Listing to Expose Booking.com Vetting Weaknesses
BP Appoints New Chairman in Effort to Stabilise Leadership
Aberdeen Sells Hydrogen Bus Fleet at Heavy Loss After Green Transport Experiment
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record as Climate Change Intensifies Extreme Heat
Scotland Pledges to End Temporary Accommodation for Children and Build 111,000 Affordable Homes
DNO Agrees $396 Million Deal to Acquire Capricorn Energy
Uber and Wayve Launch UK’s First Supervised Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service in London
Britain Expected to Avoid New US Tariffs Targeting European Union
Middle East Conflict Pushes UK Energy Costs Higher and Revives Inflation Concerns
UK Growth Forecast Cut to 1% Through 2027 as Youth Unemployment Is Projected to Rise
Andy Burnham Links Weak UK Growth to Brexit in First Full Commons Session as Prime Minister
Keir Starmer Resigns as MP, Triggering Holborn and St Pancras By-Election
UK Business Confidence Improves but Remains Deeply Negative
Aberdeen Hydrogen Bus Sale Recovers Just Six Pence for Every Pound Invested
Which? Exposes Booking.com Verification Failures With Fake 10 Downing Street Listing
British Business Bank Invests Up to £46 Million in Deep-Tech Startup Fund
Scottish Government Puts Violence Against Women at Center of Legislative Program
FCA Eases UK IPO Rules to Strengthen London’s Listing Market
UK Likely to Avoid Next US Tariff Measures as Washington Targets EU
Macron Visits UK for Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition and Border Security Talks
British Chambers of Commerce Cuts UK Growth Outlook to 1% for 2026 and 2027
Keir Starmer Resigns as MP for Holborn and St Pancras, Triggering By-Election
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Unveils Devolution and Cost-of-Living Agenda
UK Borrowing Costs Surge as 30-Year Gilt Yield Reaches 5.88%
Cleveland Police Receive £2 Million to Tackle Serious Crime in Middlesbrough
Number of Young People in England Without a Close Friend Reaches Record Level
Five Arrested After Newborn Baby Dies From Stab Wounds in Sheffield
Nigel Farage Faces Questions Over Reported Second Parliamentary Standards Investigation
UK Retirement Funding Requirement Rises by £64,000 Compared With 2021
UK House Prices Rise for First Time Since April, Nationwide Says
FCA Chief Faces Allegations of Intimidating Consumer Group Over £9 Billion Car Loan Inquiry
Scottish Government Presses Ahead With Cap on Essential Food Prices
Burnham Government Moves to Overhaul Early Prison Release Scheme
UK Records Hottest Summer on Record in 2026, Met Office Says
UK Government Announces Major Reset of Diplomatic Policy Towards Israel
UK Pushes Back After Trump Reopens Falkland Islands Sovereignty Dispute
Keir Starmer Resigns as MP, Triggering Holborn and St Pancras By-Election
Andy Burnham Blames Brexit for UK’s Decade of Weak Growth in First Commons Address
England Faces Renewed Scrutiny Over Sewage Discharges and Water Quality
Victoria Beckham Business Reports First Operating Profit Since Launch
BT Expects £2 Billion From Copper Sales During Full-Fibre Rollout
UK Train Drivers Secure 3.6% Pay Rise and Avert Strike Action
FCA Chief Faces Scrutiny Over Alleged Pressure on Consumer Group in Car Finance Case
Kemi Badenoch Names Andrew Griffith Shadow Chancellor in Conservative Reshuffle
UK House Prices Rise for First Time Since April
UK Shop-Price Inflation Accelerates to 1.5% in August
Met Office Data Point to Hottest UK Summer on Record
UK Announces Emergency Prison Release Measures and £110 Million Capacity Expansion
UK Launches Expanded Free School Meals and 1,400 Breakfast Clubs
×