Yahoo News 'Not much diversity!' Labour MP condemns picture of all-white northern Tory MPs
A Labour frontbencher has criticised a picture showing a group of new Tory MPs who are all white.
Angela Rayner, who is rumoured to be standing for the vacant Labour deputy leader position, condemned the picture of new northern MPs won from Labour’s so-called ‘red wall’ posted by Tory Jake Berry.
He wrote alongside the picture: “Welcoming (some!) of the new #BlueWall of northern Conservative MPs to Parliament tonight
“Working together we’ll hunt like a pack to get a brilliant deal for people across the #NorthernPowerhouse!”
Wow Jake not much diversity going on here, is it a new men only commons Tory social club? I know you Tories are way behind the times, “Hunt like a pack”? 😳 Is it a new branch of the Bullingdon Club? 👎 https://t.co/nI7pkwtSOx
— Angela Rayner 🌈 (@AngelaRayner) December 19, 2019
Ms Rayner responded: “Wow Jake not much diversity going on here, is it a new men only commons Tory social club?
“I know you Tories are way behind the times, ‘Hunt like a pack? Is it a new branch of the Bullingdon Club?”
Others also criticised the lack of diversity showing in the photo:
Something slightly off about this picture that I can't qwhite put my finger on.
— HONK for Christmas (@RavenholmCLP) December 19, 2019
Exclusively white, exclusively male, extensively privileged, probably well-off, utterly unrepresentative of the UK population.
— martin (@cardiff_martian) December 19, 2019
How representative
— Karishma Patel (@KariSPatel) December 19, 2019
Despite the attacks, statistics show that the Tories have added three more MPs from an ethnic minority background in the general election, taking their total to 22.
However, Labour boasts 41 BAME MPs - an increase of nine from the previous Parliament, according to British Future.
Research from the BBC and the LGBT MP website also found the Tories have the highest number (19) of openly gay MPs of all parties, while nearly a quarter are women.
