Don't Leave Equality to the Satirists

This week is like Christmas come early. First a retreat on the ghastly super-casinos. Then an almost total ban on smoking in public places, which will hugely improve the quality of life for millions of us - hallelujah! And today, we will see the shape of a new Commission on Equality and Human Rights, putting equal rights for all right up at the top of the government's agenda, ahead of the election.

After seven long months of bitter argument and lobbying, ministers are expected finally to announce detailed plans for the new commission and the end of three now-familiar bodies, the Commission on Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

A vast range of grievances, from unequal pay for millions of women to racial attacks in schools and discrimination against wheelchair users, will fall into the CEHR's lap. It hasn't been given a rousing welcome so far. The CRE warned of "universal hostility among those representing ethnic minority Britain" while the gay campaigners at OutRage called the planned body "divisive, unequal and weak".

Some of the hostility can be put down to self-protection and fear of job losses in the old bodies. That's a fact of life. Each of those bodies was very different: this is the equality-agenda equivalent of a merger of BP, Marks & Spencer and Madame Tussauds.

Above the level of mere institutional resistance, there has been a scramble about which kinds of discrimination will be treated most seriously by the new body: will it represent a "victory" for female equality issues over disability, or of race issues over discrimination caused by sexual orientation? How will so many different issues be dealt with and prioritised?

Wait till the right-wing satirists catch on to the arguments - there will be cartoons, no doubt, showing elderly Sikhs, gay wheelchair-users and African-Caribbean businesswomen struggling in the corridor about whose rights are more urgent. But nobody who cares about real unfairness should snigger. The government has listened to hundreds of responses to its consultation; concessions have been made, and, hopefully, many real problems addressed.

The big concern has been that the new body wouldn't have enough muscle - that the forced merger by ministers is an attempt to draw the teeth of the most effective campaigners and produce a blander, more reticent organisation which goes aroundmiddle England, coughing politely and emphasising education, not law-enforcement.

But unless the tom-toms are malfunctioning badly, there is excellent news on the way. The new commission is likely to be be underpinned by an Equalities Act, giving it explicit and clear powers. The CEHR will be able to look into named persons or organisations, and to act before specific complaints have been received. It is likely to be able to summon witnesses to its inquiries without the authorisation of the secretary of state, making it genuinely independent of government.

Its powers of enforcement will be guaranteed in law, and the government is expected to stress that the existing commissions' power will not be diminished. As for the CRE's concerns that issues such as hate crimes might not be taken seriously, the government looks ready explicitly to include combating prejudice and tackling race hate crimes in the commission's remit.

But it goes further than that. The new body will be expected to change the culture. With the new Human Rights Act enshrined in British law, the commission will be its guarantor and champion. It will periodically draw up a "state of the nation" report to measure progress towards specific equality and human rights goals.

As it decides which issues to go with, month by month, no doubt some campaigners will feel let down at times. But it is absolutely vital no one loses sight of the great prize: in Whitehall, heft, and the simple unchallengeable cause of equality for all, bring great power.

If there is one value that unites virtually everyone in mainstream politics, it is the modern belief in equal treatment and individual rights, irrespective of gender, religion, race, age or sexuality. It is the part of the Enlightenment and liberal heritage we all sign up to. Surely, therefore, a new body which has as its sole purpose the promotion of that virtue, should accumulate real authority.

It represents the general value, not just the specific case, and so in time it should win general support. I say "should" because as with all human institutions, things could go horribly wrong: a couple of really bad appointments, a foolishly chosen cause célèbre, and the new commission could become a white elephant. But really, it's unlikely. If it plays its cards even moderately well, this will become the commission no one dares ignore. Sometimes, the government really does get it right.