The Labour government intended to remove race from the political agenda in 1965. For many, it had done just that. The electorate, the cabinet, the opposition Conservatives, and the unions each seemed content with the status quo. The state's new law served as a public proclamation against racism, and institutions acceptable to both ends of the political spectrum had been established to cope with concrete cases of racism. There was pervasive indifference or hostility to further race policies in the public and the political elite in the late 1960s as reflected in opinion polls and in public statements of most politicians. Three short years after Parliament brokered its legislative compromise, however, Britain's domestic race institutions were – against all odds – significantly expanded and strengthened.

The 1968 Race Relations Act struck out in two directions. It widened protection against access racism to the fields of employment, housing, and provision of a broader range of goods and services. Even after passage of the 1965 act, it had remained permissible in Britain to refuse a job, an apartment, or insurance to an individual because of the color of his or her skin. The 1968 law provided safeguards against this kind of discrimination. The 1968 legislation also shored up enforcement, providing (a few) additional teeth to the race relations bureaucracies. Under the new law, the Race Relations Board could investigate instances of racism even when no complaint had been filed, and it could bypass the Attorney General and take cases before courts on its own initiative.