Prime Minister Keir Starmer slams “shocking racism” of Liverpool City Region Reform MP's comments
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has blasted the “shocking racism” of comments from a Liverpool City Region MP, who said she was driven mad by adverts “full” of Black and Asian people.
Sarah Pochin became the region’s first Reform UK MP in May when she beat Labour to the Runcorn and Helsby seat by just six votes. Responding to a view on TalkTV over the weekend, she said “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people.”
Ms Pochin was roundly criticised for her remarks which were branded as “unacceptable” by the Labour Party. Sir Keir Starmer has now made his view clear on the comments made in a phone-in on Saturday, branding it as “shocking racism.” The Prime Minister has called on Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to answers questions over the conduct of his party colleague.
Ms Pochin said the TalkTV viewer was “absolutely right” when complaining about advertising. She blamed the situation on the “woke liberati” in the “arty-farty world”. She said: “It might be fine inside the M25, but it’s definitely not representative of the rest of the country.”
The MP added: “It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family, is… not represented anymore.”
Speaking to the BBC, Sir Keir responded to the outburst. He said: “It’s shocking racism and it’s the sort of thing that’ll tear our country apart. And tells you everything about Reform. And Nigel Farage has some questions to ask. Either he doesn’t consider it racist which I think is shocking in itself or he does think it is and shows absolutely no leadership.”
Ms Pochin issued an apology on social media on Sunday. She said: “My comments were phrased poorly and I apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention. The point I was trying to make is that the British advertising agency world has gone DEI mad and many adverts are now unrepresentative of British society as a whole.
“I will endeavour to ensure my language is more accurate going forward.”
Last month, the losing candidate in May’s by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, Karen Shore, said Ms Pochin’s win was a “wake-up call” for Sir Keir Starmer. Ms Shore warned that Labour activists are in the “fight of our lives” against Nigel Farage’s party.
At his party’s conference, Sir Keir used his keynote speech to criticise Mr Farage, who he said “doesn’t like Britain” and “doesn’t believe in Britain”.