Anneliese Dodds: We don’t think enough on ‘how we bring communities together’

Anneliese Dodds has told a Labour event that “we haven’t devoted enough attention to…difficult questions about how do we bring communities together”.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities  told the Jewish Labour Movement’s annual conference that we need to “create spaces and events where people have genuine respectful dialogue with each other”, referencing work on integration by British Future think tank director (and LabourList columnist) Sunder Katwala.

The Oxford East MP highlighted events held in Oxford that some might view as “less important” such as an interfaith walk,  but which ensure a “structure” and “relationships” are in place for when something “uncomfortable” arises.

She said “challenges often arise” when conversations are not face-to-face but on social media, where it is “not really clear what the boundaries should be” or “what ground rules are”.

The Oxford East MP highlighted events held in Oxford that some might view as “less important” such as an interfaith walk,  ensuring a “structure” and “relationships” are in place for when something “uncomfortable” arises.

@UKLabour Chair and Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities @AnnelieseDodds addresses our first session in the main hall:

How can a Labour Government deliver true equality for women?

Excellently chaired by @Laura_E_Marks and @GarfieldJudith pic.twitter.com/4CjqDMQAFS

— Jewish Labour Movement (@JewishLabour) January 14, 2024

Dodds said that Martin Forde KC’s report had revealed “awful failings” in Labour including in relation to antisemitism, Islamophobia, anti-black racism, Afrophobia and misogyny. She said Labour had “worked through all of” the recommendations, and it had led to a focus on culture.

“Obviously, we’ve done that work on the complaints process that kind of deals with the symptoms, when the bad behaviour has already happened. We’ve got to focus on now the culture, the unacceptable behaviour and stopping it in the first place.”

New Deal is ‘new deal for working women’

Earlier in the session, Dodds also said she often brands Labour’s New Deal for Working People a “deal for working women” as it would have the most impact on women, she told a conference today.

The shadow cabinet minister also said that women’s equality must be “at the heart of what we do”, adding: “It can’t be simply an agenda item that comes at the end or that sits in a different place.”

She said: “If we want to ensure that we have the fastest economic growth of the G7 countries, we can’t do that in a situation where we see so many women, for example, in their 50s and 60s, have to move out of the formal labour market because there isn’t appropriate care there for loved ones, because there isn’t enough flexibility at work, or because they can’t manage their menopausal symptoms if that’s an issue for them, at the same time as their current pattern of work.

“We believe we can make many changes if we’re given that chance to serve,  pragmatic measures that would help. Our New Deal for Working People I often call iur deal for working women actually, because it would have the biggest impact on women – around flexibility, around preventing maternity discrimination, around ensuring there’s action against sexual harassment in the workplace as well.”

She also highlighted the commitment to halve serious violent crime, saying it could not be achieved without a focus on domestic violence.

She said her role in the shadow cabinet rather than simply a shadow minister is “an indication really of how seriously we take these issues”, and highlighted her recent Fabian Society pamphlet on why the country can’t afford to ignore inequality.

Meanwhile Dodds called herself a “real optimist” about the possibility of finding a “way forward that works for everyone” in relation to the interests of both trans people and biological women in response to an audience question.

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