The supposedly progressive media outlet, The Guardian, has come in for significant criticism and allegations of racism after appearing to claim that Labour may have ‘relied on Asian voters‘ in yesterday’s Peterborough by-election.
In their article reporting Labour’s surprise victory in Peterborough yesterday, The Guardian quoted sources from the Brexit Party who made the clearly racist claim that the Labour vote was boosted by Pakistanis in inner-city wards, stating:
“Brexit party insiders said Labour’s reliance upon a mainly Pakistani vote in inner-city wards had been the difference between the parties.”
The Guardian then added an obviously racist quote from their Brexit Party source, which claimed:
“Some of these houses had 14 people in them registered to vote. It would be interesting to see what proportion voted Labour”
However, The Guardian then went on to state that “Labour denied relying on the city’s Asian voters, calling the theory a “racist trope” “ – a phraseology which has come in for significant criticism and claims that it mindlessly parroted the Brexit Party’s racist framing of the situation that Asian voters are somehow less deserving of their right to vote.
These are weirdly written paragraphs. It's obviously a racist trope and "relying" on "Asian voters" is not something a party should have to "deny" pic.twitter.com/wMeByGRWIf
— Alex Macpherson (@alex_macpherson) June 7, 2019
Following freelance writer Alex MacPherson’s screenshot of The Guardian’s controversial words gaining traction on Twitter, Novara Media’s Aaron Bastani tweeted:
“I thought repeating of a racist frame would only be found in the Times, Telegraph and Mail. This is in the Guardian.
Peterborough is 82.5% white and, in a democracy, it’s one person one vote. Get to f*ck, the left will beat you again and again.”
I thought repeating of a racist frame would only be found in the Times, Telegraph and Mail.
This is in the Guardian. Peterborough is 82.5% white and, in a democracy, it’s one person one vote. Get to f*ck, the left will beat you again and again. https://t.co/m7W3mPJCRA
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) June 7, 2019
Bastani also added:
“The Brexit party will just whine and peddle racist tropes. That’s obvious and it’s half the reason they exist at all. The left will beat them at the ballot box, but centrist media also has to not just parrot their garbage.”
The Brexit party will just whine and peddle racist tropes. That’s obvious and it’s half the reason they exist at all. The left will beat them at the ballot box, but centrist media also has to not just parrot their garbage.
— Aaron Bastani (@AaronBastani) June 7, 2019
1) This ain't news but wow, the Brexit Party are gobsmackingly racist
2) WTF is wrong with "relying on the city's Asian vote"? Voters are voters! pic.twitter.com/yuVDD8t4kA
— Samuel Pollen (@samuel_pollen) June 7, 2019
And in a move which appears to recognise their mistake, The Guardian have now changed their article to remove the allegedly racist framing – with the paragraph now simply stating that Labour had “dismissed the theory [sic] a “racist trope” “.
Terrible. It's now "Labour has dismissed." pic.twitter.com/3sUXhsIoXt
— Hicham Yezza (@HichamYezza) June 7, 2019
The Guardian has not, as yet, made any correction or apology.
