A leaked document, no doubt written, approved, and distributed thanks to the public purse, tells London civil servants to refrain from using the words “men,” “women,” and “illegal migrants.” The guide, produced for City Hall workers under the watch of Mayor Sadiq Khan, suggests more “inclusive,” and in some cases distracting, terms instead.
The internal document, which applies to the authority’s almost 1,500 workers, was last updated in April 2022 before being leaked this week by The Sun newspaper. This is split into different sections to ensure officials communicate with Londoners in as “representative”—some say as “woke”—a manner as possible.
On gender, it instructs:
Avoid using “men and women”—say “people” or “Londoners.” Similarly, instead of “ladies and gentlemen” say something that doesn’t exclude non-binary people.
“Male” and “female,” the document assures, are “dated and medicalised” terms. Staff should also refer to “people affected by period poverty” because “not all women have periods.”
Illegal migrants, the guide adds, should not be referred to as such; they should be called people “with insecure immigration status,” or “undocumented.” And asylum seekers should really be described as “people seeking asylum.” In the same month that Mr. Khan said “we need more migrants in London” to help boost the economy, the document leak revealed that civil servants have been told to “remember, we are all Londoners. Don’t make a distinction between ‘migrants’ and ‘Londoners.’”
The word “kids” is also deemed too patronising, and is to be replaced by “young Londoners.” It is no longer proper to refer to an individual as “illiterate,” since it “positions the person as lacking.” Greater London Authority (GLA) workers, it seems, have not fully absorbed lessons about inclusivity during their “unconscious bias training,” which was introduced in 2021, “to help build a more inclusive culture.”
The GLA pushed back on the suggestion that civil servants have been banned from using age-old phrases, noting:
This guide is about encouraging precision, offering recommendations and highlighting things for staff to consider, not banning words. London’s diversity is its greatest strength and it is right that the language we use to talk to and about London’s communities is as accurate, inclusive and representative as possible.
