Europe, UK (Commonwealth Union) – On Friday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressed his hurt and anger after a supporter of Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK party was recorded making a racial slur about him. Sunak emphasized that the issue was too important for him to remain silent.
“My two daughters have to see and hear Reform people who campaign for Nigel Farage calling me an effing Paki. It hurts and it makes me angry, and I think he has some questions to answer,” the PM said to reporters.
“I don’t repeat those words lightly, I do so deliberately because this is too important not to call out clearly for what it is,” he added.
The racial storm surfaced in the weekend when Andrew Parker a Reform party volunteer was caught on camera making extremely racist comments which were broadcasted on Channel 4 that included shooting migrants at sea and using them as target practice. The Reform party has dismissed the member since the incident which included him using the racial slur often directed at individuals of South Asian descent in the UK.
The Reform Party has further withdrawn support for Edward Oakenfull, the candidate for Derbyshire Dales; Robert Lomas, the candidate for Barnsley North; and Leslie Lilley, the candidate for Southend East and Rochford, following the emergence of alleged racist comments made by them in the media.
The Reform party leader responding to the footage aired on Channel 4, which had been done by a production company had stated that they employed an actor to use highly offensive language during a Channel 4 News investigation into Reform campaigners. In response, the Reform Party has stated that they reported Channel 4 to the UK’s Electoral Commission. Channel 4 had however hiring an actor.
Reform UK candidate, Liam Booth-Isherwood, previously a candidate for the Erewash seat, announced he was withdrawing from the race. Instead, he will endorse the Tory candidate, Maggie Throup, to “stop Labour.”
Racism has long been a pervasive issue in the United Kingdom politics, manifesting itself in various aspects of society, including the country’s political landscape. General elections, which are meant to be a democratic process representing the will of the people, have not been immune to this problem. In recent years, the prevalence of racism in UK general elections has become increasingly apparent, prompting discussions on how to address this pressing issue.
Racism and extremism reports have not been unique to the Reform party with many major parties including the Conservatives, Labour and Greens being accused of it. The Greens party members had recently being accused of antisemitism and the Labour party was plagued by racism and antisemitism to which Sir Keir Starmer had suspended Labour MP Rupa Huq in the past over disturbing comments.
