Tory peer brands use of term 'white privilege' the 'left-wing version of apartheid'
22 June 2021, 20:24 | Updated: 22 June 2021, 20:31
Tory peer takes aim at 'poisonous philosophy from US'
Conservative peer Lord Ralph Lucas tells LBC the phrase "white privilege" is a "poisonous and horrible philosophy."
The Tory peer attributed rise of the phrase to universities in the United States.
He told LBC it was "immensely divisive and destructive" branding the term "the left wing version of apartheid."
The conversation comes after a report by MPs claimed the use of terms like 'white privilege' has led to a neglect of white working-class pupils in the UK.
The report, from by the Education Select Committee, said that teachers should find 'a better way to talk about racial disparities'.
Read more: 'National scandal': White working class pupils neglected by education system, MP tells LBC
It finds that white working class pupils significantly underperform when compared with other minorities.
Lord Lucas told LBC's Iain Dale that "calling people white working class is very much putting them in a box."
Watch: Term 'white privilege' insults white people, Tory MP tells LBC
The peer said it was a local issue which needed to be dealt with by local authorities, suggesting this was the reason a national government "struggled" to deal with it.
Read more: Actors’ union member calls Laurence Fox a ‘disgrace’ in ‘white privilege’ row
Branding the level of underperformance in white working class pupils as "shocking," Lord Lucas said the issue had gone on for "decades."
Working class caller: I am a walking contradiction
A DfE spokesperson said: "This Government is focused on levelling up opportunity so that no young person is left behind.
"That's why we are providing the biggest uplift to school funding in a decade - £14 billion over three years - investing in early years education and targeting our ambitious recovery funding, worth £3 billion to date, to support disadvantaged pupils aged two to 19 with their attainment."
