Equality Bill [Lords]

I am extremely grateful to the hon. Lady. I was coming to that, but I will spare her the wait. She referred, very modestly, to having been born after the introduction of some of the original legislation. I am so old that the first Prime Minister I remember, and in certain respects would even commend, was a certain Clem Attlee, who, when asked to define an elephant, said that it would be difficult to define but on the whole you knew one when you saw one. As a one-nation politician—I do not claim that approach exclusively for my party, although I wish I could—I am comfortable with the way in which the debate is going. I have some working experience of the three existing equality bodies, and I would not find it easy to recognise some of the caricatures. It is an error to think that just because a person or an institution does not do the whole job they are useless. Of course there will be mistakes, but broadly their record has been as a force for good, and I commend and thank them for that. Having said that, I am struck by the remarkable degree of dualism about several areas of the argument. From a one-nation viewpoint, I have no difficulty at all with the general duty in clause 3—that is what most of us are in politics for. I may have a little more doubt as to whether it can legally be deliverable in that form, but that is a separate issue. However, it is beyond doubt that beyond those great themes a huge amount of legal background music has to be played into what is a rather long and complicated Bill. Although the Chamber is beginning to fill now, I detect that problems remain about many issues on the social frontier and they are not confined to one party. There is interest and enthusiasm among aficionados and experts but neglect elsewhere. We sometimes need to engage the people outside, who are not listening. Inevitably, that leads me back to the remark of the hon. Member for Hackney, South and Shoreditch (Meg Hillier) about political correctness. The new commission will have to resist it and take a lead in encouraging the notion to resist it. That requires an active communication strategy to explain what the new commission does and why. It is important that as many people as possible have some ownership of the argument about discrimination. Business especially, though not exclusively, needs convincing that there is an opportunity and that it has an entirely proper role alongside the statutory organs in delivering an equality agenda. The commission will not function well unless it carries confidence. I never cease to make the business case in the House for diversity and equality awareness.