Anti-white bias is snatching young people's futures in favour of box-ticking

Britain should be a country where your future depends on talent, effort and determination. It should not be decided by whether you tick the right diversity box. Yet today, far too many of our institutions are putting identity ahead of ability. From recruitment policies to university admissions, affirmative action is warping opportunity in ways that are unfair, divisive and corrosive to young people striving to make their way in the world.

I have watched brilliant friends denied jobs simply because they were white. Others, despite top marks, have been turned away from universities in favour of candidates who did not even meet the minimum requirements. How can it be just that a gifted young person is excluded because of the colour of their skin?

That a hardworking student is refused a place while someone with lower grades walks in on a quota? These are not isolated scandals. They are part of a growing trend that undermines merit, corrodes standards and eats away at the very idea of fairness.

That is why, in my role as Young People's Director at the Great British PAC, I am launching a campaign to end affirmative action in Britain. These policies do not create fairness, they obliterate it.

They send a poisonous message that success is not earned through effort and talent, but through the right box being ticked. T his summer, MI6, MI5 and GCHQ launched taxpayer-funded internship schemes for 2026. The catch? White British students were barred from applying.

Yes, in the name of "diversity", our security services imposed racial exclusion and called it progress. And recently, the Bar Council announced their participation in the 10,000 black interns scheme, which explicitly says you must be black or of black heritage to access the opportunity - one that will no doubt give these individuals a significant leg-up.

It does not matter if you grew up in poverty, if you battled adversity, if you were raised in care. If you are white, you are out. This is not diversity. This is discrimination dressed up in a suit and tie. Under the Equality Act 2010, such blanket exclusions are unlawful. We already have firstclass claimants prepared to act. This is our moment to say enough is enough.

Real equality means judging people as individuals, by what they achieve, not the colour of their skin or the categories imposed on them. Positive discrimination is still discrimination. It has no place in schools, universities or workplaces. We will expose unjust practices hiding behind the banner of diversity.

We will push to repeal Section 158 of the Equality Act, the so-called "positive action" clause granting cover for affirmative action. We will petition the public, rally support and work with MPs to secure reform in Parliament. And where necessary, we will go to court against institutions that place quotas above merit.

Why do I feel compelled to act? Because as a young person, I cannot stand by while my generation is told that ability does not matter. I have seen friends who worked night and day, achieving top grades, denied their rightful opportunities as they did not meet a diversity target. If the races were reversed, it would be deemed intolerable.

So why is it tolerated? This fight rests on three simple truths. First, fairness. Opportunities should go to those who earn them. If merit is ignored, trust in our institutions collapses and capable people are robbed of their chance to succeed. Second, standards.

By bending rules to meet quotas, employers and universities allow places to go to those less prepared, while those who worked hardest are cast aside. It is not progress, but decline. Third, unity. By prioritising identity over achievement, these policies sow division and resentment.

Far from bringing society together, they pit communities against each other and tell young people their hard work does not count. This is why I am standing up to the political establishment - to restore meritocracy, to make sure that talent and effort are rewarded and to bring back a Britain where every individual is judged on what they can do, not what they look like.

Together, we can rebuild a system where the best person gets the job, the brightest student wins the place and graft triumphs over box-ticking. It is time to end the false promise of positive discrimination - and to make Britain fair again.