Phil Syrpis Profile picture
31 Mar, 7 tweets, 1 min read
I started to read the Commission Report on Race and Ethnic Disparities (attached).

It is jaw-dropping in places. This, from the foreword, for example... 1/2

assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
'We increasingly felt that an unexplored approach to closing disparity gaps was to examine the extent individuals and their communities could help themselves through their own agency, rather than wait for invisible external forces to assemble to do the job.' 2/2
Just two more points on this.

1. 'Helping themselves' is *not* an 'underexplored approach'. FFS.

2. If 'external forces' were more visible that might, who knows, be an improvement. FFS.
And another quote (from p.31):

'We suggest that pessimistic narratives about race have also been reinforced by a rise of identity politics, as old class divisions have lost traction. Well organised single-issue identity lobby groups also help to raise the volume...
...These organisations can do good work protecting the vulnerable, but they also tend to have a pessimism bias in their narratives to draw attention to their cause...
...And they tend to stress the ‘lived experience’ of the groups they seek to protect with less emphasis on objective data...
...It is not surprising therefore that mainstream public debate about race sensitises minorities to discrimination, but does less to highlight minority self-reliance and
resilience.' (Ends)

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More from @syrpis

1 Apr
Late last night, I had a dream that I was given access to the work which is being done, deep in the bowels of Downing St, for the Brexit inquiry. I only remember snippets, but here goes... THREAD. 1/8
The conclusions have already been written. Teams (led by a respected cross-party group of members of the House of Lords (Hoey, Stuart, Hannan and Moylan were mentioned)) are now seeking out the evidence. 2/
Brexit is a triumph. Global Britain has been reborn. Our sovereignty has been regained. We have regulatory autonomy and unfettered trade. The Govt has worked day and night to deliver on the people's priorities, and must be celebrated. 3/
Read 8 tweets
28 Mar
OK... So I have read the self-styled 'hugely significant' revelations in the Mirror so that you don't have to.

Highlights in the thread below. 1/10

But just in case you want to have a read yourselves, the link is here:
mirror.co.uk/news/politics/…
The purported huge significance attaches to possible breaches of the Nolan Principles.

ICYMI, there are already a huge number of examples of breaches by Johnson and his Cabinet colleagues in the public domain. People don't care. 2/
But perhaps they do care about the details of the tryst. That, for better or worse, is where the article puts its focus.

It seeks to make a lot of the bond which Jennifer had with Boris (or should that be 'Alexander the Great'). Some examples... 3/
Read 10 tweets
21 Mar
This appears to have taken off somewhat - thanks for all the retweets and comments.

Several people are asking what can be done. A couple of small suggestions follow. Do share other, no doubt better, thoughts too. 1/5
The first is directed towards those who have the chance to interrogate the Govt (media, MPs etc).

Try to explore their position on these sorts of issues - where do they stand on eg breaches of international law and the Ministerial Code, international COVID comparisons... 2/5
...free speech, the right to protest, cronyism, etc etc. How do Ministers etc seek to explain their position? Juxtapose what they said then with what they are saying now.

Which brings me to the second point. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
21 Mar
The double-standards and hypocrisy of the Govt and its outriders - on almost all fronts - is dizzying. I get that it is a deliberate strategy, but really struggle to understand how so many people are taken in.

Just a few examples... 1/7
The sanctity of international commitments, Treaties and contracts. If we are prepared to breach them when it suits us, how outraged can we really be when the EU, or China, or Russia, does the same? 2/7
The Ministerial Code. Breaches by Patel and Johnson are waved away. But breaches by Nicola Sturgeon are, it seems, in a different category. 3/7
Read 8 tweets
15 Mar
In the Sarah Everard case, there is an emerging trope - criticising those who have 'politicised' her death, and intimating that the protests would not be welcomed by her family and friends.

There are a few things here worth unpicking. Thread. 1/9
First, I am not sure on what basis people are presuming to know what Sarah's family and friends are going through, and how they are reacting to the way things are unfolding. My guess is that they have a wide range of views and thoughts. 2/9
Second, it is worth distinguishing between the publicity which Sarah's death and the investigation into it is attracting; and the broader debate about womens' safety, the role of the police and the right to protest. 3/9
Read 9 tweets
13 Mar
This is appalling. And the Govt is introducing legislation to increase police powers to restrict public protest. 1/2
Literally on Monday, this legislation will get its second reading. 2/2
And I’m reading that Labour is going to abstain. Is that right? Surely it can’t be right? @Keir_Starmer @ThangamMP
Read 4 tweets

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