Prime Minister Condemns Reform's 'Smokescreen of Hate and Division'
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has launched a scathing attack on Reform UK, accusing the party of spewing "racist rhetoric" that poisons national discourse. The Labour leader's comments come after Runcorn and Helsby MP Sarah Pochin doubled down on her controversial remarks about the representation of Black and Asian people in television advertisements.
MP's Controversial Comments Spark Widespread Condemnation
Sarah Pochin first drew widespread condemnation in October when she appeared on TalkTV and agreed with a viewer complaining about advertising demographics. "It drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people," the Reform MP stated during the broadcast. While she later apologised for causing offence and acknowledged her phrasing was poor, Pochin this week insisted her underlying point remained "absolutely right."
In an interview with the Daily T podcast, Pochin defended her position: "Those comments were misinterpreted entirely, I accept it was clumsy speech but what I said is absolutely right. I said, the British advertising industry has 52% or 56% - I can't quite remember what the figure is - of ethnic minority actors represented in the adverts, and yet the population is 4%, that is not a reflection of our population." She referenced a Channel 4 survey indicating 51% of adverts featured Black people in 2024.
Starmer's Strong Rebuke of Reform's Political Approach
Speaking to the Mirror, Prime Minister Starmer delivered a forceful condemnation: "Yet again our country's discourse is being poisoned and polluted by the racist rhetoric coming from Reform - pitting communities against one another and sowing division to suit their own ends. They should be apologising, not doubling down."
The Prime Minister expanded his criticism to include Reform's broader political strategy: "You only have to look at the toxicity flowing from their candidate for Gorton and Denton to know what they are about - dangerous ideas that pull at the fabric of who we are in Britain. They don't have solutions to the challenges we face as a country. All they can offer is a smokescreen of hate and division."
Starmer contrasted Reform's approach with his government's vision: "That is the type of politics Britain left in the 1980s. I reject it completely and utterly. My Labour government will always choose the other path - the one that celebrates our reasonable, tolerant and diverse country. That is the country I love and that is the country I am fighting for."
Reform Leadership's Response to the Controversy
Reform leader Nigel Farage previously described Pochin's comments as "ugly" but declined to take disciplinary action against the MP. In October, Farage stated: "I am unhappy with what she has done. I understand the basic point, but the way she put it, the way she worded it, was wrong and was ugly, and if I thought that the intention behind it was racist, I would have taken a lot more action than I have to date."
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions between Labour and Reform regarding diversity, representation, and political discourse in contemporary Britain. Starmer's intervention represents a significant escalation in his criticism of Reform's messaging and political tactics as both parties prepare for upcoming electoral contests.
