Starmer Dismisses Jenrick's Handsworth Remarks as Difficult to Accept.
Keir Starmer has condemned Robert Jenrick's statements about not seeing another white face in parts of Handsworth, suggesting the MP was hard to take seriously.
Political Ambitions Accusations
Starmer implied that Jenrick's comments were linked to a stealth Tory bid for leadership and said he did not believe they painted a true picture the area of Handsworth.
It’s quite hard to take anything that Robert Jenrick says seriously; he’s clearly still running his leadership campaign.
The shadow justice secretary has been criticized for igniting a fire of toxic nationalism after he doubled down on his remarks despite criticism from individuals including the former Conservative mayor of the region, Andy Street.
Community Rejection and Support
Starmer, who avoided directly addressing the statements, said he had agreed with Andy Street's objections of the MP.
- The former mayor had stated to the media the comments were incorrect and portrayed the area as a very integrated place.
- In my view, Andy Street's comments were accurate, the prime minister said. Andy Street obviously was mayor for a long time and knows the area very very well.
Kemi Badenoch, supported Jenrick, saying he had made a factual statement and that there was nothing wrong with making observations.
But she also told the program: I don’t think this is where the debate should be, about how many faces people see on the street and what they look like.
Party Disagreements
Mel Stride became the first senior Tory to distance himself from Jenrick over the comments, informing a gathering that they were phrases I would have avoided.
Jenrick repeatedly told interviewers at the conference that he supported the remarks and did not resile from them as it would be wrong to shut down an important debate that the nation needs to engage in about social cohesion.
When a reporter put it to him that his remarks could embolden extremist organizations, Jenrick said it was an absolutely disgraceful and ridiculous question.
Original Remarks
In his original remarks, Jenrick said Handsworth was one of the worst integrated places I’ve ever been to. In fact, in the hour and a half he was recording in the area he observed no other white individuals.
That’s not the kind of country I want to live in. I want to live in a country where people are properly integrated. It’s not about the colour of your skin or your faith – of course it isn’t. But I want people to be living alongside each other, not parallel lives. That’s not the right way we want to live as a country.
