Survey shows racism rising since EU referendum

The percentage of people from Asian background reporting racial discrimination has increased since the EU referendum, a survey reveals.

The survey by Opinium showed that 71 per cent of people from ethnic minorities said they faced racial discrimination, compared to 58 per cent before the EU vote.

For the survey, 1,006 people from ethnic minorities in the UK were interviewed between 22 February and 14 March 2019.

In January 2016, 64 per cent from an ethnic minority said they had been targeted by a stranger, and that percentage increased to 76 in February this year.

As for bias on social media, 37 per cent of people saw racism on day-to-day basis at the end of 2016, but that has now risen to 50 per cent.

David Lammy, the Labour MP for Tottenham, has called the findings alarming.

“It is no coincidence that this rise has come as anti-migrant populists seek to divide the country using the playbook of Donald Trump," Lammy was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

“This has both legitimated and encouraged abuse online and in the real world. I have experienced first-hand the rise in racist content on social media, and the level of abuse experienced by the younger generation makes dealing with this problem of paramount importance.”

Omar Khan, the chief executive of the Runnymede Trust, a race equality thinktank, said Brexit has "amplified" the experience of racism among ethnic minorities.

“Even before the referendum a clear majority of Britain’s 8 million ethnic minorities reported experiencing racism and being targeted with overt discrimination. Following the referendum, these figures have now risen to around three in four ethnic minorities, meaning that millions of ethnic minorities have been targeted with overt racism.”