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Disgust - The Reform party Racist Sarah Pochlin

(329 Posts)
Wyllow3 Mon 27-Oct-25 08:40:31

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd7rg7wjvgvo

I'm sure we are all aware now that Reform MP Sarah Pochlin, made the following remarks on that Talk TV phone in.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting, quite rightly, imo, has criticised Reform MP Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) for what he called "racist" language:

after she complained about adverts being "full of black people, full of Asian people

She gave a mealy mouthed apology "my remarks were "phrased poorly"
but maintained that many adverts were "unrepresentative of British society".

Streeting said yesterday Pochin had only said sorry "because she's been caught and called out".

its one of those "I'm sorry if" apologies that mean nothing - she is racist at heart.

The adverts we see on TV are all so very different - they are targeted, for example on ITV 3 we get a series of almost complete white older people in baths with doors, sitting in idealised arm chairs, etc etc.

On programmes watched by whole groups of people the content reflects our society as a whole. which is multi cultural:

and has the benefit, I believe for young people particularly, who don.t live in multi-cultural areas like mine, of showing that people from varied backgrounds do ordinary things like insure cars or watch TV or mix across cultures with popcorn and a take out (just to give some typical examples)

One has to ask, why does she mind so much?

What she said isn't even that insidious or subtle racism or the kind of racism people carry but aren't necessarily aware of

(ie assumptions being made becuase you dont actually know people from different backgrounds)

it was full out in your face "us and THEM" revealing her and her Reform compatriots in all their prejudice and hatred.

She should be taken to task by Farage. Is she isnt, what does that say about him?

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 16:55:58

Aveline

With people recording programmes so they can fast forward or pay for no advertising I think that TV advertising agencies must be having urgent meetings. Remember when adverts were clever or funny? Just irritating now.

😀

Has anyone ever been persuaded to buy anything from seeing a TV advert?

"Ooh, I must have that armchair, it takes years off you!!"

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 16:54:47

PaynesGrey

Aveline. The formal research was published three years ago.

I am taking about what is on TV now in 2025, as I presume is Pochin. I have seen plenty of evidence on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky today to prove her wrong.

Latest consecutive ads on ITV not already mentioned:

• Lebara Mobile. Two white men.
• M&S. Asian female model, white male partner.
• Dairylea cheese. Two white children.
• Guide Dogs. Four blind adults, three white, one black.
• TGA Mobility. White couple. Black woman.
• NHA Flu Vaccine. Six adults in a life, four white, one Asian, one black.
• Plantur 39 shampoo. Four white women.
• Find My Past. Featuring old photos all of white people.
• Euromillions. Hundreds of people all ethnicities.
• Guide Dogs. White family, mother, father and two sons.
• M& S. White mother, white daughter.

I am labouring the point as, over dozens of adverts for different brands, I simply don't see what Pochin is claiming, that white people are not fairly represented in advertising.

Conclusion:

25 white actors
5 non-white actors
(plus the Euromllions ad)
ie 17%

11 ads
5 had non-white people in them
ie 45%

Just to show how percentages can be manipulated.

Maremia Mon 27-Oct-25 16:53:51

She has apologised. Why? If it wasn't racist, why apologise?

Aveline Mon 27-Oct-25 16:52:50

With people recording programmes so they can fast forward or pay for no advertising I think that TV advertising agencies must be having urgent meetings. Remember when adverts were clever or funny? Just irritating now.

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 16:48:16

Oreo

growstuff

MaizieD

So are all you 'not racists' who somehow notice the number of coloured people in adverts actually put off buying an advertised product because its advertised with coloured people in the advert?

This is very weird...

I just take it for granted that the world isn't exclusively white..

It's totally bizarre!

Here are some products I assume racists have never bought:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=umlrEJJuD7k

I don’t believe any poster here has said that it matters to them or that they wouldn’t buy a certain product because of it, so no not strange at all.
What a lot of people here and in the country too, have noticed is that a great deal of ads don’t have white actors.

So what?

Aveline Mon 27-Oct-25 16:31:49

And not being accepted on it.

Oreo Mon 27-Oct-25 16:23:58

Yes, you def are labouring the point.

PaynesGrey Mon 27-Oct-25 16:22:06

Aveline. The formal research was published three years ago.

I am taking about what is on TV now in 2025, as I presume is Pochin. I have seen plenty of evidence on ITV, Channel 4 and Sky today to prove her wrong.

Latest consecutive ads on ITV not already mentioned:

• Lebara Mobile. Two white men.
• M&S. Asian female model, white male partner.
• Dairylea cheese. Two white children.
• Guide Dogs. Four blind adults, three white, one black.
• TGA Mobility. White couple. Black woman.
• NHA Flu Vaccine. Six adults in a life, four white, one Asian, one black.
• Plantur 39 shampoo. Four white women.
• Find My Past. Featuring old photos all of white people.
• Euromillions. Hundreds of people all ethnicities.
• Guide Dogs. White family, mother, father and two sons.
• M& S. White mother, white daughter.

I am labouring the point as, over dozens of adverts for different brands, I simply don't see what Pochin is claiming, that white people are not fairly represented in advertising.

Oreo Mon 27-Oct-25 16:21:34

growstuff

MaizieD

So are all you 'not racists' who somehow notice the number of coloured people in adverts actually put off buying an advertised product because its advertised with coloured people in the advert?

This is very weird...

I just take it for granted that the world isn't exclusively white..

It's totally bizarre!

Here are some products I assume racists have never bought:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=umlrEJJuD7k

I don’t believe any poster here has said that it matters to them or that they wouldn’t buy a certain product because of it, so no not strange at all.
What a lot of people here and in the country too, have noticed is that a great deal of ads don’t have white actors.

Casdon Mon 27-Oct-25 16:16:58

Allira

growstuff

That's gaslighting! It sounds like you're accusing "Casdon" of being a goody two shoes. There's nothing "good" about not watching ads and getting on with something else - it makes sense.

Nasty, growstuff.

Casdon knows me better than that.

I didn’t take it that way growstuff - i don’t do it because I’m virtuous in any way though, it’s more that I’m a natural procrastinator who finds it all too easy to loaf about in the evening, and I found I could cope with not loafing for three minutes at a time while the adverts were on to do the essential housework. It’s stuck because I did it for so long, I now get itchy if I try to stay put for adverts.

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 16:15:51

Ps but it's nor something that bothers me.

What does annoy me is 30 something actors pretending to be 80 somethings in adverts aimed at older or less able people.

And Derek and his insurance policies.

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 16:12:41

Aveline

The world is not exclusively white but neither is UK 51% black as per TV adverts.

Appearing in 51% of TV ads (if that's true) is not the same as 51% of the actors in TV ads being black. It means that 51% of ads have at least one black actor, but we have no idea how many non-black people the same ads have.

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 16:12:21

Aveline

The world is not exclusively white but neither is UK 51% black as per TV adverts.

It's just a fact.

And trying to accuse posters of racism because they recognise that fact is ridiculous, especially as some of us have mixed-race families.

Aveline Mon 27-Oct-25 16:08:58

The world is not exclusively white but neither is UK 51% black as per TV adverts.

Babs03 Mon 27-Oct-25 16:08:53

“You really wasting your time. Channel 4 has already commissioned a report and the report asserts that while black people account for around 4 per cent of the UK population they appear in more than 50 per cent of commercials”

And??
Does this really bother anyone??
Who cares what colour the people are in the ads, and if someone does care what is the reason for that??
There are also an awful lot of dogs and children in ads. Does that matter?

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 16:02:32

MaizieD

So are all you 'not racists' who somehow notice the number of coloured people in adverts actually put off buying an advertised product because its advertised with coloured people in the advert?

This is very weird...

I just take it for granted that the world isn't exclusively white..

It's totally bizarre!

Here are some products I assume racists have never bought:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=umlrEJJuD7k

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 16:02:23

Message withdrawn by Gransnet - quotes a deleted post.

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 16:01:03

PaynesGrey
I admire your fortitude in sitting through all that lot!!
Without silencing them at least.

😀

Whitewavemark2 Mon 27-Oct-25 16:00:30

Pochin and the flag flying in front of Chinese and Asian businesses are all of a piece.

The racism is writ large.

Aveline Mon 27-Oct-25 15:59:48

PaynesGrey you obviously have a different television from mine! Certainly you must watch different programmes. However, I suspect that the formal research carried on on the matter trumps your own viewing.

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 15:59:22

PaynesGrey Not only are 20%+ of the population not white, but some od the non-white people are in relationships with white people, so the number of white couples is less than 80%.

In any case, why on earth does it matter? Are people really influenced about what brands they buy because they're advertised by people with a different colour skin from themselves?

MaizieD Mon 27-Oct-25 15:56:14

So are all you 'not racists' who somehow notice the number of coloured people in adverts actually put off buying an advertised product because its advertised with coloured people in the advert?

This is very weird...

I just take it for granted that the world isn't exclusively white..

growstuff Mon 27-Oct-25 15:55:50

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

PaynesGrey Mon 27-Oct-25 15:55:43

Read the thread, Allira. I have been watching ITV, Channel 4 as well as Sky Arts. Perhaps you think ITV and Channel 4 are niche too.

SporeRB. It is up to me how I spend my time.

The Channel 4 report Pochin quotes is from three years ago, 2022.

Over 9% of the population in 2021 was of Asian ethnicity - another ethnic group Pochin is also complaining about,

In the 2021 census only 81% identified as white. Fair to say that four years on at least 20% of the population is not white else why the constant gripes about non-white migration?

I have seen only one advert today (out of dozens) which only featured a black person and no white person and and that was for toothpaste.

Allira Mon 27-Oct-25 15:54:28

Chocolatelovinggran

Well, it's advertising - land, isn't it? I'm not sure that the glossy hair, shiny homes and new cars we see in advertising are a strict representation of the people around us, either.
I am amused to see that, in this parallel universe, men are the only gender who mop floors or wipe surfaces ( although it is mostly women on laundry duties).
Apparently, teenagers, in this place, noticing dust , leap up and find a cloth to tackle it...
This is ad- land, not real life, and research would have gone into how to sell, not how to describe current Britain.

I am amused to see that, in this parallel universe, men are the only gender who mop floors or wipe surfaces

Oh, Flash Man 😁

I need him here! (See, I do watch some adverts.)