Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accused Reform UK of 'racist rhetoric' after one of its MPs doubled down on controversial comments about the representation of Black and Asian people in adverts. Speaking to the Mirror, Starmer said the party offered 'a smokescreen of hate and division' that was 'poisoning' public discourse.
Sarah Pochin, the newly elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, sparked outcry in October when she agreed with a viewer who complained about 'adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people'. She later apologised for causing offense and said her remarks were 'phrased poorly', but in a recent podcast she insisted they were 'clumsy but absolutely right'. She pointed to a Channel 4 survey showing 51% of adverts featured Black people in 2024, compared to 4% of the UK population.
Starmer also criticised Matthew Goodwin, Reform's candidate in the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, for what he called 'toxic' views on national identity and Islam. He said such 'dangerous ideas' had no place in modern Britain and accused Reform of resorting to 'the type of politics Britain left in the 1980s'. The Prime Minister affirmed his government would instead celebrate the country's 'reasonable, tolerant and diverse' character.
Reform leader Nigel Farage described Pochin's original remarks as 'ugly' but declined to discipline her, saying if he believed they were racist he would have taken stronger action. His response has drawn further criticism from opponents who argue the party is failing to address extremism within its ranks.
