Home Secretary Yvette Cooper is being asked to step in after West Yorkshire Police temporarily stopped white British people from applying to become police officers. The move was made to increase diversity in the force.
However, this decision has caused strong criticism from Conservative and Reform UK politicians. Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, told The Telegraph that it’s another case of unfair treatment in Britain. He said it’s wrong for West Yorkshire Police to treat white applicants as less important and called it “disgraceful.
He also said the Home Secretary must act quickly to stop it. Reform UK wants to remove diversity and inclusion policies and bring back hiring based only on merit.
Matt Vickers, a Conservative shadow minister, said the situation is unacceptable. He said no employer especially one paid by taxpayers—should reject people based on race. He mentioned that West Yorkshire Police spends £1 million a year on diversity staff and still made this mistake. He blamed Labour for supporting what he called “race-based social engineering” and said it’s harming the police system.
In response, Yvette Cooper said police forces should make sure recruitment is fair. She agreed that it’s okay to encourage more people from under-represented groups to apply, but said the final hiring process must always focus on picking the best candidates.
West Yorkshire Police explained that 23% of people in the region are from ethnic minority backgrounds, but only about 9% of their officers are. To improve this, they’re using “Positive Action” under the Equality Act 2010.
This allows them to invite interest from under-represented groups and keep their applications until the next full recruitment round. They said no interviews take place until the job openings are available to everyone. An official review of their process found no problems.
