If we’re going to sack MPs for racism, then let’s sack MPs who have actually been racist. Derrien Follow Nov 14, 2017 · 5 min read

I want to preface this by saying I am neither a Labour supporter or Conservative supporter. In fact I don’t support any political party. What compelled me to write this was seeing disingenuous political point-scoring over issues that should be tackled across the board, not just because a member of the opposition seemed to be the culprit.

I also want to make it clear that I am staunchly against racism and anti-black racism especially. Everyone who is familiar with me can vouch, however BS is BS and it needs to be called out.

I met Shaun Bailey when I was 17 years old whilst I was participating in a youth initiative designed to give disenfranchised and marginalised teenagers in West London employability skills. The Conservative party were in full swing of their 2010 election campaign and David Cameron came to meet us for what seemed like a photo-op. He brought Shaun Bailey along with him. David didn’t stick around for long but Shaun did, giving us the opportunity to listen and speak to him. In short, he was preaching a brand of respectability politics. The old ‘we need to respect ourselves or no one else will’ chestnut (lol). When he wasn’t doing that, he was over-exerting his ties to the locally well-known White City Estate in Shepherds Bush. A place he did not grow up in but merely attended cadets in. In fact, he did not grow up in a deprived estate in West London, contrary to what information available online would have you believe.

Fast forward seven years and Guido Fawkes has run a story featuring the Labour MP for Kensington, Emma Dent Coad supposedly saying ‘racist’ comments about Shaun Bailey on her personal blog in 2010. Yes, the same Guido Fawkes that posted this. The headline that Fawkes has ran with contains quotes that are specifically removed from their context in order to paint Dent Coad as a vile racist. It is a smart tactic as clickbait is abundant in 2017 and even I flinched upon reading the headline. However, a quick reading of the actual blogpost and contextual grasping will lead to you realise that this is nothing but an attempt to smear an opposition MP under the disingenuous guise of caring about anti-black racism. Firstly, Dent Coad is literally quoting either what others have said of Shaun, or what Shaun has said or insinuated of himself. Secondly, Dent Coad says that “his current posse of public school buddies will drop him like a hot potato if he doesn’t get elected” — a rather prophetic statement as detailed by the right wing staple The Daily Mail. Whilst the comments that Dent Coad made can be interpreted as her veering out of her lane and commenting on sensitive intra-community topics like the concept of being a ‘token’, or worse, liking and playing up to that role – the comments are not inherently sinister or dehumanising, rather they can be viewed as cautionary whilst at the same time damning.

It is highly hypocritical for Tory MPs and supporters to call for Dent Coad’s sacking when “Nigger in a Woodpile” Gate came and went in a flash, with Anne Marie Morris still smiling in her seat next to her racist partner, largely unscathed. And who could forget Boris “watermelon smiles” and “piccaninnies” Johnson currently embarrassing the country and endangering the lives of British citizens in his current role as foreign secretary. If Conservatives truly cared about anti-black racism, the two mentioned above and no doubt others should not still be representing the Conservative party.

The timing of this story being brought up is telling to say the least. Dent Coad yesterday launched her report on inequality in the borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Kensington, the constituency that she represents, contains some of the most severe juxtapositions of rich and poor in the whole country. Whilst the issues of inequality and rising gentrification have long been spoken about among us West Londoners, the Grenfell Tower disaster in June shone a global spotlight on these issues not only in London, but particularly in Kensington – a highly gentrified area that not too long ago was considered a slum for marginalised Caribbean migrants. And an area that some Conservative MPs and supporters want to de-rich by moving the historically marveled and culturally important Notting Hill Carnival to Hyde Park, or cancelling it altogether.

It is extremely disingenuous for the right wing media and its readers to suddenly act as though anti-black racism is a cause for concern for them. In the past few months alone, the media has gleefully taken quotes or incidents involving outspoken young Black British people out of context to paint them as ‘reverse racist’ (whatever that means) or to simply sell a story. Even willing to fabricate details or legitimise lies from those who have agendas in the process. As the media are aware, doing this leaves young black people open to torrential abuse from right wingers and trolls alike, doxing and also threats of violence. I did not hear the likes of Guido Fawkes, Shaun Bailey, James Cleverly or Kemi Badenoch speaking out against that.

We live in a society where the stigma of being called a racist is considered more a cause for concern than actually being racist. Being disingenuous and willfully refusing to contextually gauge comments to paint someone as racist doesn’t help anybody, let alone us black people that see through the likes of Bailey and his brand of politics. It is also telling that when black people speak out against genuine instances of racism, we are often met with “how’s that racist?” or “stop playing the race card”. I would like to see a Venn diagram of those upset over this story and those who spew the aforementioned proverbs.

This story is nothing more than the right wing media and its supporters attempting to use anti-black racism as a political football. The trouble is, aside from not seeming to understand the nuances of anti-black racism and how it operates (except when writing articles they know will garner racist vitriol towards young black people), they have never indicated that they would even care about anti-blackness and how it affects us. Their actions certainly point to that. Emma Dent Coad swerved out of her lane, however nothing she said was a lie.

If we’re going to sack or reprimand MPs for racism, then lets start with the MPs that have actually been racist and not use anti-black racism as a political football to point-score against an opposition party.