Mansfield MP refuses to take part in 'nonsense' training after Black Lives Matter protests

On the back of the news that Parliament has paid a consultancy firm £7,000 to design an unconscious bias training course to be rolled out to help educate MP’s, Ben Bradley has announced that he ‘will not be taking it’.

Unconscious bias is described by the University of California as ‘stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness’, and training to dispel it has been offered to Commons staff since 2016, but the enlistment of MP’s on the course now is believed to be in the wake of Black Lives Matters protests.

The Mansfield MP outlined his reasoning for disagreeing online for Conservative Home, and wrote that he believes MP’s are being “told that all of our thoughts are offensive and should be corrected”, and that other MP’s should stand with him in sticking up for free speech.

He also believes that the £7,000 being spent by Parliament to Challenge Consultancy, an equality and diversity training company that has also trained BBC staff, is a waste of taxpayers money.

Ben Bradley said in the article: “It’s been reported this week that £7,000 of taxpayer’s cash will be spent designing a course featuring a blue “Cookie Monster-esque” puppet, who wants to tell me in its cute and furry way that I shouldn’t use “offensive” words like “pensioner” or “lady”.

"Apparently, the puppet also plans to tell me which version of history I must use and which bits I should delete from my memory – improving my “cultural competency” – which is going to cost us around £700,000 in total.

"Needless to say I’m not convinced that this is an appropriate use of taxpayer’s money.”

He later stated: “In my view we should be unabashed in our cultural conservatism, sticking up for free speech and the right to “make my own bloody mind up, thank you very much”, and stepping in to block this “unconscious bias” nonsense. I, for one, will not be taking it, and I’d call on my colleagues to take the same stand.

"Maybe we can have a good go at some bigger reforms too. After all, this is a Conservative Government!”

The MP has gained support from fellow politicians and celebrities alike, with Laurence Fox stating his support on Twitter, calling Ben Bradley a ‘courageous man’.

The Times reported two weeks ago that the training was to be piloted and announced that senior members of the Commons Executive Board were supporting the decision, and Labour party leader Keir Starmer announced in July that he would implement the training for Labour Party staff.

The Challenge Consultancy website states that the unconscious bias training “investigates why it is inherent in us all and how we can recognise and deal with it at work.”

Lee Anderson, MP for Ashfield, has also disagreed with the decision, writing for the Chad: “The latest nonsense to surface is the news that MP’s may have to receive ‘unconscious bias’ training delivered by consultants who have declared the words ‘lady’ and ‘pensioner’ to be offensive.”