A disturbing and unsettling outburst from Reform’s newest MP has left both Sarah Pochin and the party as a whole with some difficult questions to answer, after she launched a tirade against adverts which predominantly feature black and Asian people.
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What did Sarah Pochin say about TV adverts?
Speaking to TalkTV on Saturday, Pochin stated that it “drove her mad” seeing a high proportion of minorities featured in television adverts, instead of “white families”. The statement has caused shockwaves online, and there are already calls for her to lose her role as an MP.
The representative for Runcorn went on to state that the average white person ‘does not feature’ in TV ads, before going on to blame the ‘wokerati’ for the perceived shift in demographics. However, the ramblings have left her in hot water – and fellow politicians have also joined the backlash.
Labour MP Chris Bryant took to social media to vent his frustrations…
“How did we end up like this? How does she think this is a decent thing to say? I was always taught that you judge someone not by the colour of their skin, the accent they speak with or their gender but according to the strength of their character.” | Chris Bryant
Lib Dem MP brands Reform representative ‘racist’
Voters in the Cheshire-based constituency may indeed be wondering why Pochin is spending her time tallying-up the skin colours she sees on the box. Meanwhile, Josh Babarinde, a Member of Parliament for the Liberal Democrats, has made his feelings extremely clear – branding Pochin as a “Grade-A Racist”.
Sarah Pochin apologises – as calls for her resignation emerge
Now facing calls to resign, Sarah Pochin has since apologised for the wording of her point – but it was followed by significant caveats. In a statement shared online, she continued to lash out at “DEI mad” advertisers, and maintained that her argument was about “balance and fairness”.
“My comments on a Talk TV phone-in earlier today were phrased poorly and I unreservedly apologise for any offence caused, which was not my intention. Representation in advertising should reflect the diversity of modern Britain.“
“The point I was making is that many British TV adverts have gone DEI mad and are now unrepresentative of British society as a whole. This is not an attack on any group but an observation about balance and fairness in how our country is portrayed on screen.” | Sarah Pochin