Can common sense replace Equality Act protections, as Kemi Badenoch suggests?

As British politics is dragged remorselessly to the right by a toxic coalition of far-right agitators , social media titans and hostile states, the Conservatives under Kemi Badenoch are trying to carve out a distinctive position while flirting with some of the darkest forces in society.

Last week was typical on this populist tightrope: she called for an end to the duty placed on public bodies after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence to fight discrimination, while carefully avoiding going as far as her foes in Reform UK , who want to scrap the entire Equality Act.

Never mind that this culture warrior did nothing to roll back the Public Sector Equality Duty while serving as equalities minister. After all, most Tory proposals are etched in hypocrisy after their own pathetic stint in power. But now Badenoch claims white working class boys to be among the country’s most disadvantaged children and, in the wake of some gruesome killings, pushes populist assertions about “two-tier policing” with officers blinkered by woke mindsets.

Note how missing in all these attacks on concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion – as in the United States, from where so much of this poisonous brand of politics is imported – is any discussion of people with disabilities. Badenoch insists she does not see the need to treat any groups differently to ensure fairness – yet when BBC presenter Justin Webb pointed to a need for wheelchair access to public buildings during a Today programme interview last week, she responded bizarrely by talking about putting rapists in women’s prisons. “We must not create special categories of people,” she pontificated.

Yet people with disabilities endure routine discrimination – from families being unable to access care for children, through to a health system that still treats learning disabilities as a sufficient reason to lock people up for years. The disability employment gap is 30 per cent higher than for other citizens. And we have just seen arguably the biggest rollback of disability rights this century with a Supreme Court ruling that effectively brands people with profound needs as lesser citizens.

This ruling, in a case taken by the state, strips away crucial checks on the protection and care of vulnerable people by declassifying them as being deprived of liberty if deemed to have consented to their living arrangements. This takes away their entitlement to legal safeguards, which, as campaigners rightly say, makes it much harder to tackle abuse and neglect.

Now let me tell you about a friend, whom I will call Kate. She is the mother of a young woman with a genetic disorder resulting in the use of a wheelchair, limited verbal ability, severe learning disability, autism and fragile bones. Her daughter needs full-time care for life. And as a campaigner fighting for the rights of such families, she knows all too well about the horrors inflicted in residential settings in places such as Winterbourne View in Bristol, where autistic young people were physically and mentally tortured , and Hesley care homes in Doncaster, where children were kicked, punched and locked outside naked in winter.

This nightmare confronts every parent of a child with profound needs. So Kate worked hard to find a safe and suitable post-college residence, knowing there would be minimal state support if she brought her daughter back home. She researched intensively, visiting scores of supported living units last year before settling on one with a caring culture. A support team was recruited and trained. Her daughter seemed happy after settling well into her new flat.

Then came the call any parent dreads: a member of staff had been suspended for abusing her daughter. A support worker had been screaming at her child, calling her stupid. She had confiscated her communication aid if displaying challenging behaviour. Removed her television for asking to watch a programme repeatedly. Dragged her by the ankles if she refused to move when told. And thrown a big bean bag over her when showing signs of distress, then lying on top to stifle her.

The whistleblower who dared raise the alarm was a carer from Ghana – the sort of person Badenoch dismisses as a “bottom wiper” and wants to prevent from coming to work in Britain. Although new to the team, she alerted managers – then others came forward. The perpetrator was suspended, then sacked. The police launched an investigation. But two days before the Tory leader declared war on the public sector equality duty, police called Kate to say the incident had been resolved with the issuing of “a community resolution” for common assault, so there would be no conviction.

Kate tried to challenge this. She pointed out that officers made just one attempt to assess the impact on her daughter, but left her flat when told she was asleep. There was no contact with Kate, or her Court of Protection-appointed representative, beyond a text saying they were investigating. Nobody asked about physi…