Amidst fresh accusations of antisemitism, the far-left leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn said that if elected he would force schools in the United Kingdom to teach what he called the “historical injustices” committed by the British Empire.
Jeremy Corbyn announced that, should he take the reigns of power in the UK, he would create an “emancipation educational trust” to establish a new national curriculum that would teach students about the “historical injustice, colonialism and role of the British Empire” and the legacy of slavery. He made the comments while launching the Labour Party’s so-called ‘race and faith’ manifesto on Tuesday.
The trust would educate students about migration and how slavery “interrupted a rich and powerful black history”.
Corbyn said that the “unbelievable levels of brutality” he claims the British Empire committed should be taught to children “all year round” and “not just in Black History Month”.
The proposed national curriculum would also focus on racism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, and black history.
“Only by acknowledging the historical injustices faced by our communities can we work towards a better future that is prosperous for all, that isn’t blighted by austerity and the politics of fear,” said Dawn Butler, the Labour Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities.
It is not clear whether the new left-wing curriculum for school children would also teach the broader context of slavery, or how the British Empire banned slavery and expended enormous effort and expense worldwide to stamp out the practice.
Amongst the other proposals in his race and faith manifesto, Corbyn said that the Labour Party would create a race equality unit within the Treasury to review the impact of major spending announcements on minority communities.
The Labour Party also proposed an independent review of far-right extremism in the UK.
The swath of race-based initiatives came as the nation’s chief rabbi Ephraim Mirvis called the socialist leader of the opposition “unfit for office”, over his handling of antisemitism allegations.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said it was “staggering” that the Labour Party “sees fit to lecture people about race and faith” while it is under investigation for antisemitism.
Earlier this month, the leader of the Brexit Party, Nigel Farage, said that people should stop apologising for the past and instead look to the future.
“I think if we obsess about the past, different times and different cultures, it can be very difficult to move forward. So I think some of this stuff is just not helpful. I don’t think I should apologise for what people did 300 years ago. It was a different world, a different time,” said Farage.
“You could apply that argument to any civilisation, any country and we seem to be terribly keen to apologise for the past and a bit less worried about creating a good future,” he concluded.
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