Depoliticising race: A critical policy analysis of the UK's CRED 2021 report

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government introduced the 2021 Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) report as a flagship race policy. Using Critical Policy Analysis (CPA), this study critically examines the CRED report to uncover how structural racial inequality is obscured through policy discourse. The analysis reveals three key findings: (a) the report's reliance on data-driven and technocratic language depoliticises racism, framing disparities as cultural or behavioural rather than systemic; (b) key racial concepts are redefined, raising thresholds for recognising institutional racism and shifting accountability away from state structures; (c) by selectively highlighting minority ‘success stories’ and national progress, the policy constructs an optimistic narrative that reinforces state legitimacy. This research contributes to the literature by exposing how UK race policy functions as a tool of ideological containment, managing public dissent while preserving the racial order embedded within capitalist governance.