White working-class people should not be made to feel unwanted and undervalued to the point of feeling like a second-class citizen in their own country, writes the social integration expert

Further exposing the marginalising nature of the unholy trinity of diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI), a new analysis has revealed that white working-class students are excluded from almost all pro-diversity Oxbridge scholarships.

Across the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge, the paper identified at least 15 scholarships, bursaries or financial aid schemes targeting undergraduate, master’s and PhD students from a Bame background.

As a result of this, there are fears white-British students from left-behind communities often miss out (despite being one of the most under-represented groups in the university system).

Under the Equality Act 2010, passed in the last stages of ‘New Labour’, public bodies and private institutions are permitted to take “positive action” to “address disadvantage or under-representation”.

However, while race (including ethnic and national origin) is enshrined as a protected characteristic, social class and region are not – despite the UK being an intensely stratified society with huge amounts of regional inequality.

The unhealthy framing of racial-minority identity as an indicator of disadvantage was put on steroids during the era of ‘BLM-mania’, which saw the aggressive importation of American racial theories into Britain – despite the two being historically and culturally different over matters of race.

The proliferation of Critical Race Theory (CRT) – a conceptual framework developed in the US which encourages the interpretation of social, legal, and political structures through the prism of race – has been especially unhelpful in this context.

The foundational belief of CRT-inspired intersectionality is that white males are an especially hyper-privileged class – without seriously considering their social class and how impoverished their local neighbourhood is.

Having gone through the full journey of higher education after attending state school and the publicly funded Luton Sixth Form College – doing my undergraduate degree, Masters, and PhD at Royal Holloway – I would be keen to see our universities offer scholarships, bursaries, and other financial aid schemes which are truly reflective of the inequalities which continue to persist in our society.

Policy Exchange’s A Portrait of Modern Britain: Ethnicity and Religion report, published in October 2024, found nearly three in five members of the British public believe that between race and class, the latter is more important in terms of succeeding and doing well in Britain – including the majority of ethnic-minority citizens.

While 30 per cent of the general population believed race was either extremely or fairly important in determining a person’s ability to succeed and do well in Britain, this shot up to 57 per cent when it came to network and connections.

Of course, some young people may not be academically inclined but nevertheless have the natural practical skills which means they can make a success of themselves through vocational routes. But if there is a white working-class lad who values formal education and wants to attend university to achieve his specific career dreams, then the university system should be fair and offer the financial support required.

He certainly should not be made to feel unwanted and undervalued to the point of feeling like he is a second-class citizen in his own country.

If our universities insist on DEI, then they must do better in terms of addressing the true barriers to opportunity in modern Britain.