Labour ditch 'unlawful' BAME ticket discount after equalities watchdog rap

Labour has scrapped plans to charge black and ethnic minority members less for tickets to a conference after an equalities watchdog said it was "unlawful".



The Equalities and Human Rights Commission said the party was guilty of "discrimination" for offering the discount.

Tickets for Labour's East Midlands Regional Conference next month were offered to BAME members for £30 - £10 cheaper than for other attendees.

Labour officials said the move was aimed at boosting the number of ethnic minority members in attendance.

But after a complaint by Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, the EHRC said: "Charging people different rates because of their race is unlawful discrimination unless it can be shown that this is a proportionate way of addressing low levels of participation.

"We will be writing to the Labour party to ask them for their justification of this policy."

A spokeswoman for the party said they were ditching the plan.

"The Labour party is taking advice on other ways we can increase the representation of BAME members at East Midlands Regional Conference in February," she said. "The intention behind the BAME pass was to increase the representation of under-represented groups which remains a priority for the party."