Gavin Newsom has declined to give university students who are descended from slaves preferential treatment.

The California governor, who is emerging as a centrist force within the Democratic Party, vetoed a bill championed by the California Legislative Black Caucus, which would force universities to give admissions preferences to such groups.

Mr Newsom said the university bill was unnecessary because institutions can choose whether to implement positive discrimination policies independently.

He also squashed bills seeking to set aside money from a loan programme for first-time buyers who are descended from slaves, and another requiring the state to investigate claims the government seized people’s homes to turn them into public land for racist reasons.

However, he did sign off on $6m (£4.5m) of funding for a California State University study aiming to scientifically identify the descendants of enslaved people.