Sarah Pochin - MP for Runcorn and Helsby | Reform Watch
Profile and accountability tracker for Sarah Pochin, MP for Runcorn and Helsby. Reform UK.
Role: MP for Runcorn and Helsby
Party: Reform UK
Recorded incidents (showing 1-4 of 4)
Sarah Pochin criticised for remark about French World War Two soldiers
Category: xenophobia
On 4 August 2026, Reform MP Sarah Pochin posted an online comment in response to France's rejection of Nigel Farage's Channel plan, saying "Pity the French did not show the same resolve in defending their sovereignty in June 1940." The remark referenced French losses in 1940 and was published in the context of Reform's proposals to intercept small boats crossing the Channel. Her comment drew criticism from MPs and others who said it insulted French wartime sacrifices. The remark was reported alongside Reform's Operation Fortress proposal; no party disciplinary action was reported in the coverage and Pochin remains an MP.
Recorded incident
Category: racism
Location: Unknown
On 2025-10-25 Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin said during a TalkTV phone-in that “it drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people” and that such adverts “don’t reflect our society”, adding that “your average white person, average white family is… not represented anymore.” Pochin issued a public apology on 2025-10-26, saying her comments were “phrased poorly” and apologising “for any offence caused”, while maintaining her criticism of what she called “DEI madness” in the advertising industry. The remarks prompted cross-party condemnation, a letter from Labour’s chairwoman asking Nigel Farage to withdraw the party whip, a censure motion from the Liberal Democrats and national criticism including from the Prime Minister. Nigel Farage said he was “unhappy” with Pochin’s remarks and found her words “ugly” but stopped short of describing them as racist, while a Reform leadership member defended that Pochin had “a basic point” for debate.
Sarah Pochin criticised for remarks about Black and Asian people in adverts
Category: racism
On 25 October 2025 Sarah Pochin, the Reform UK MP for Runcorn and Helsby, told a TalkTV phone-in that adverts 'full of black people, full of Asian people' 'drive me mad' and said such adverts 'don’t reflect our society'. The remarks were broadcast and drew immediate public criticism. Pochin apologised on 26 October on social media, saying her comments were 'phrased poorly' and not intended to offend while reiterating a critique of the advertising industry's 'DEI' practices. Prime Minister Keir Starmer described the remarks as 'shocking racism' and Labour chair Anna Turley demanded Nigel Farage withdraw the party whip; Farage said he was 'unhappy' and called the wording 'ugly' but declined to label the comments racist or to take further disciplinary action, and the Liberal Democrats tabled a censure motion in Parliament.
Pochin branded Parliamentary Standards Commissioner a 'kangaroo court'
Category: scandal
Sarah Pochin, Reform UK MP for Runcorn and Helsby, described the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards as a "kangaroo court" while her party leader Nigel Farage was under active investigation over allegedly undeclared gifts and hospitality. The remarks, made in July 2026, targeted the independent statutory body that enforces the Code of Conduct and the Register of Members' Financial Interests. The comments drew immediate criticism because the Commissioner's office is the very mechanism through which MPs are held to account for their financial declarations. It is not the first time senior Reform UK figures have publicly disparaged parliamentary standards processes when their own members are under scrutiny, and the attack was widely read as an attempt to delegitimise the regulator mid-inquiry.