In statistics released this week by the Home Office, hate crimes recorded by police in England and Wales have increased by 7% to 146,825 in the year ending March 2026, adding to a near three-fold increase in the last decade. Religious hate crime has reached a record high, new figures showing there were there were a 9% increase in race hate crimes and a 13% rise in religious hate crimes. There were increases in religious hate crimes targeted at Muslim people, up by 15%, and Jewish people, up by 10%.
Joanne Thomas – Usdaw general secretary says: “We very much welcome this awareness week, which puts the spotlight on a disturbing rise in hate crimes, as shown by the latest statistics. These figures demonstrate the daily problems many communities face, which too often go under the radar.
“Trade unions have a crucial role in creating a fairer and more equal society - the scale of the task is huge. It is incredibly worrying that popular support for extreme right-wing parties has grown to levels we have not seen since the 1930s. That encompasses a wide range of parties and groups, who may differ in their views, policies and the extent to which they support or use violence. The one thing that defines them is their racism. Regrettably, their appalling views are being normalised in mainstream political debate through the increasingly right-wing agendas of the Tories and Reform.
“The politics of hate seem to have taken hold in our society. We have witnessed disgraceful scenes of right-wing extremists on our streets and it is clear that the far right pose a very real threat to people's lives. These so-called protests are driven by racism and hatred - and nothing more. The far right spread fear and anxiety in our communities and in our workplaces. They threaten lives and the values of unity and solidarity that our movement is based on. We will always challenge hatred and division, as we stand in solidarity against hate.”
Notes for editors:
Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is one of the fastest growing unions in the TUC and the UK's fifth biggest with around 370,000 members. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also represents many workers in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades www.usdaw.org.uk
National Hate Crime Awareness Week is a week of action to encourage the authorities, key partners and communities to work together to tackle crime across the UK https://nationalhcaw.uk/
Hate crime, England and Wales, year ending March 2026
For Usdaw press releases visit: www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Bluesky @usdawunion.bsky.social and Twitter/X @UsdawUnion