Claudia Webbe: ‘The uneven deaths reflect a global economic system which has been built upon racialised extraction and subordination’

A COUNCILLOR elected as a new MP has spoken out about the “racial and class inequalities” that she said were being highlighted by the coronavirus crisis.

Claudia Webbe, the Labour MP for Leicester East, said she welcomed the government’s investigation into the disproportionate impact of the virus on BAME (Black and Asian Minority Ethnic) communities.

A study by the Health Service Journal found that people from BAME backgrounds accounted for 95 per cent of medical staff deaths despite making up 44 per cent of the NHS medical workforce.

“Our health service simply would not function without the sacrifices of people from across the world,” said Cllr Webbe, who still also represents Bunhill ward.

“The scourge of institutional racism results in unequal access to quality education, healthy food, liveable wages and affordable housing — which are the foundations of health and wellbeing.

“This is the context in which the coronavirus crisis is operating.

“The uneven deaths reflect a global economic system which has been built upon racialised extraction and subordination.”