London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin apologises for saying she gets frustrated seeing adverts with diverse ethnic groups, sparking controversy and debate.
Sarah Pochin stated that many advertisements are “unrepresentative of British society” while claiming that her remarks were “phrased poorly.”
A TalkTV viewer who was complaining about the demographics of advertising was being addressed by the MP for Runcorn and Helsby.
As Ms. Pochin put it, “it drives me mad when I see ads full of Black people, full of Asian people.” The viewer was “absolutely right.”
She continued:
“It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is…not represented anymore.”
“It might be fine inside the M25, but it’s definitely not representative of the rest of the country,”
she said.
Ms. Pochin blamed the “woke liberati” in the “arty-farty world” for the predicament.
Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said:
“It’s astonishing that a senior Reform MP is spending her time counting the numbers of people with a different skin colour to her on TV adverts.
Defining British people by the colour of their skin is completely unacceptable and shows once again that Reform are more interested in dividing our country than uniting it.
Nigel Farage needs to condemn this now, and urgently clarify whether Sarah Pochin’s views on race are welcome in his party.”
Liberal Democrat MP for Eastbourne Josh Babarinde wrote on social media:
“If the colour of someone else’s skin drives you ‘mad’, you are a Grade-A racist.”
In a later statement, Ms Pochin said she was trying to say the advertising industry had gone
“DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) mad.”
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 have 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.”
What did Labour and other parties demand after the remarks?
Following Sarah Pochin’s controversial reflections about announcements featuring different ethnic groups, Labour and other parties demanded a clear combination of her commentary. Labour leaders called the reflections inferior and prompted Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to intimately repudiate them.
Labour and confederated parties framed the commentary as dangerous to social cohesion and reflective of moping ethnic prejudices, demanding that similar views not be permitted within mainstream politics.
They sought assurances that Reform UK would take concrete ways to address internal issues related to race and representation in light of Pochin’s reflections. This response fits in broader debates in UK politics about diversity, media representation, and the liabilities of public numbers to foster regardful dialogue.