Dawn Butler is not taking the Sarah Pochin situation lying down – but she shouldn’t have to

Dawn Butler has written to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner following a disgraceful exchange in the House of Commons this week, which led to her narrowly avoiding being thrown out of the chamber for calling a racist Reform MP racist.

It’s racist comments, not a racist person, apparently

On Monday 27 October, Dawn Butler called out Reform MP Sarah Pochin for her racist comments on Talk TV over the weekend. During a phone-in Pochin said:

It drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people, full of, you know, people that basically are anything other than white.

However, when Butler raised this in the Commons she was repeatedly shut down by the Deputy Speaker Judith Cummins, who warned Butler that whilst the comments were racist, it’s disrespectful to call Pochin a racist.

Cummins patronisingly told Butler:

It’s important that we all act with respect and set an example to the country.

Before being forced to withdraw the comment before she got thrown out, Butler said:

I appreciate that in this house that we are not supposed to be disrespectful and call members of parliament what they actually are… It’s quite strange that I’m unable to call out the member for being a racist, having made a racist comment.

Cummins’ solution to this was that if Butler did believe Pochin to have breached the ministerial code of ethics, she should complain about it to the Standards Commissioner. So, that’s what she’s done.

“Right fuck it, Dear Mr Commissioner…” Dawn Butler, probably

In a letter signed by 36 other MPs from across the political spectrum, Butler reaffirms what she and other members of the House thought of Pochin’s comments and asks the commissioner to investigate whether the Parliamentary Code of Conduct was breached.

The letter says:

We believe these remarks are racist. They single out Black and Asian people and frame their visibility as a problem.

The letter reminds the commissioner, as Butler tried to inform the Deputy Speaker, that members of parliament are supposed to uphold high standards of “integrity, accountability, and respect”.

Dawn Butler and the other signatories, which include Jeremy Corbyn, Carla Denyer, and Nadia Whittome, inform the commissioner, in their collective opinion, that Pochin’s comments “undermine” the Nolan Principles of Objectivity and Honesty. This is because, they say:

Her claim that the representation of Black and Asian people in advertising suggests that whiteness is the normative identity, while minoritised communities are outsiders or exceptions. However, Black and Asian people have lived, worked and contributed to Britain for centuries and almost 20% of the UK population are Black, Asian, or Minority Ethnicity.

They also state that Pochin’s promotion of division based on race shows that she “fails to demonstrate Leadership, Integrity, and selflessness”

The letter says:

This rhetoric risks emboldening those who view diversity as a threat, normalising racial exclusion and hatred.

As the letter points out, under the Nolan Principles members have a duty to uphold the integrity and reputation of the House, act with respect, and avoid conduct that discriminates against others. The letter concludes, “Ms Pochin’s comments clearly fall short of these standards.”

It shouldn’t have to come to this

It’s clear that what Pochin said was vile, dangerous, and wrong, but it shouldn’t take a Black woman having to do all the labour for the House of Commons to conclude that someone who makes racist comments is a racist. But as we’ve seen with Zarah Sultana and the situation with Your Party, it’s invariably minoritised women who have to pick up the slack of white people.

It should never have had to go this far, but this is what happens when white people are more concerned about offending racists than they are with those the dangerous comments of racists affect.

Dawn Butler should’ve been able to call a spade a spade and a racist a racist, without having to get arbitrary commissioners involved.

Featured image via the Canary