Latest Policy Briefs

At MLegal, our policy briefs highlight and challenge structural barriers affecting marginalised communities in the UK, offering legal analysis and recommendations to influence law and policy.

ICESCR Anniversary Letter

Dear Secretary of State, Today marks fifty years since the United Kingdom ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), committing to uphold rights including housing, food, health, education, social security and decent work. Ratification was never intended to be the end point. The next step is incorporation - ensuring these rights are protected in domestic law and made real in people’s everyday lives. Fifty years on, it is time for the UK Government to act.

Equality Law Reform

The King’s Speech in 2024 stated that the Government would publish a Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill seeking to “enshrine in law the full right to equal pay” on grounds of race and disability. The Government’s Office for Equality and Opportunity is taking the opportunity of a proposed Equality Bill on equal pay to also undertake a review of some other parts of the Equality Act 2010. The King’s Speech in 2026 further referenced the Government’s commitment to promote “women’s full economic and political participation within their societies”.

Equal Pay Paper

Introduction. In July 2024, the King’s Speech included the government’s commitment that “Legislation on race equality will be published in draft to enshrine the full right to equal pay in law [Draft Equality (Race and Disability) Bill]”. This followed the 2024 Labour Manifesto commitment to “introduce a landmark Race Equality Act, to enshrine in law the full right to equal pay for Black, Asian, and other ethnic minority people…”.

Government Responsibility For Religion Or Belief

Background. The current machinery of government for the equality agenda is fragmented, complex and arguably incomplete. There have been some welcome changes in recent years – notably bringing together the Government Equalities Office, the Race Equality Unit and the Office for Disability Issues into the Equality Hub, and establishing a stable home for it within the Cabinet Office following multiple changes of department over previous years, in 2019; moving sponsorship of the Social Mobility Commission to the Equality Hub, in 2021; and rebranding the Equality Hub as the Office for Equality and Opportunity (OEO) to reflect a stronger focus on socio-economic inequalities and extending its ministerial team, in 2024. Details of the current OEO ministerial team and their responsibilities are at Annex A.

Islamophobia Definition

Like other forms of bigotry, Islamophobia targets its victims as a group and operates in three inter-related domains – othering, discrimination and hostility, each with their own manifestations that require separate and specific provisions to address them effectively.3 Islamophobia is a form of religious bigotry, racial bigotry and a complex combination of both – ie, racialised religious bigotry.4 Islamophobia can be perpetrated individually, institutionally and structurally (ie, at a societal and/or state level), experienced individually, institutionally and collectively as a community, and compounded by other characteristics – eg, gender, geography and socio-economic/citizenship status.5 As a form of religious/racial bigotry, Islamophobia today operates and is experienced in very similar ways to past and present forms of Antisemitism in the UK – all such forms of bigotry should be dealt with comprehensively and consistently.

Employments Bill

The Employment Rights Bill 2024–25 aims to improve workplace protections, but key clauses risk entrenching discrimination against British Muslims and other marginalised groups. MLegal warns the Bill inadequately addresses religious harassment, third-party abuse, and unfair dismissal related to political or religious expression. Without amendments, it could reinforce structural inequalities and suppress lawful views, such as pro-Palestinian advocacy. Reforms are needed to ensure equal protections and uphold freedom of expression in the workplace.

Border Security Asylum And Immigration Bill

The Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill proposes broad powers that risk criminalising asylum seekers and humanitarian aid, expanding surveillance, and enabling racial profiling—particularly against Muslims and marginalised groups. Clauses related to searches, data sharing, and crime prevention orders may erode privacy rights and blur lines between immigration and counterterrorism. MLegal warns these measures could institutionalise discrimination and calls for amendments to ensure legal safeguards, protect civil liberties, and uphold human rights.

Crime And Policing

This briefing critiques the Crime and Policing Bill, highlighting how Clauses 86, 101, and 123 risk disproportionately harming marginalised communities, including Muslims and political activists. It raises concerns about the criminalisation of face coverings at protests, deportation risks linked to cautions, and the vague targeting of political or religious expression in detention settings. The document argues these measures lack safeguards and could undermine fundamental rights and freedoms. MLegal calls for key amendments to protect civil liberties and prevent discriminatory enforcement.