A strange article from the Guardian about the crisis in the British ‘equalities watchdog’ (sic) as one by one senior people jump off –  are even hard-core social democrats so appalled by what is happening to their own creations that they are going John Galt?

The deliciously named author of this piece Amelia Gentleman (surely a name which should be banned by any decent collectivist equalities watchdog for its patronising sexist overtones) can not even get the name of the ‘watchdog’ correct, calling it the Equalities and Human Rights Commission whereas in fact it is the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

She mentions the impending departure from the EHRC of my former boss in the FCO Nicola Brewer, who presided uneasily over the European Directorate of the FCO in her final job before moving over to be the EHRC’s first Chief Executive.

What’s going on?

It is impossible for us mere mortals to penetrate the Left v More Left v Even More Left ideological siege warfare going on behind the scenes in the publicly funded Equalitariat. But Amelia gives us a teasing clue:

Part of the concern stems from a shift in the tone and style of the new body, which emphasises the concept of "fairness" more than the notions of "equality" and "discrimination", and is less focused on campaigning.

Sounds OK to me. However:

An equality lawyer, who also asked not be named, said: "The problem is that ‘fairness’, unlike equality, has no basis in law. It’s a much more nebulous concept. Fairness is not about protecting the rights of those who have experienced discrimination, it’s about being fair to everyone, including businesses and white men."

There we have it. A so-called ‘equality lawyer’ says that ‘fairness’ has no basis in law.

Has this clueless person actually studied the law? What about the Maxims of Equity and all the common law principles developed over many centuries which have built British law and given the planet the most sophisticated principles of balance and fairness ever devised by humans?

And although it is not totally clear from the text, the implication of the last sentence seems to be that being fair to businesses and white men is something … unsatisfactory?

All in all, wonderful news.

Maybe by the time the Conservatives get in there will be no-one left in the EHRC building except a redeployable security guard or two, and the whole thing can be shut down without anyone noticing.