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Politics
Liam O'Dell
Apr 07, 2023
Related video: Sunak says he is taking 'decisive action' to stomp out 'evil' child abusers
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In the UK political arena, ripping apart other political parties’ policies and actions is par for the course, but one attack ad shared by the Labour Party on Thursday has been met with accusations of “gutter politics” for claiming Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, does not want convicted child abusers to go to prison.
Arguing that they are the “party of law and order”, Labour shared a graphic containing a picture of the PM, along with the text: “Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn’t.”
Citing Ministry of Justice data, the ad continues: “Under the Tories, 4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under 16 served no prison time. Labour will lock up dangerous child abusers.”
It is not clear how Labour reached the statistic of 4,500 adults, but some outlets have presumed the phrase “under the Tories” means the data goes back to 2010 – a whole five years before Mr Sunak first became an MP for Richmond, in Yorkshire.
The ad comes just days after Mr Sunak unveiled new plans to tackle grooming gangs which target children and young women, with the Conservative Party leader saying “the safety of women and girls is paramount”.
“For too long, political correctness has stopped us from weeding out vile criminals who prey on children and young women. We will stop at nothing to stamp out these dangerous gangs,” he said.
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The advert has received widespread condemnation from social media users and political commentators:
\u201c@UKLabour Fuck me Labour, it was low when Johnson claimed Starmer failed to prosecute Saville and it\u2019s low to claim Sunak doesn\u2019t want child abusers to go to prison. I\u2019d say you can do better, but recent evidence suggests you don\u2019t really want to.\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1680788892
\u201c@UKLabour trying to imagine the focus groups that lead to this\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1680788892
\u201cThis is an absolute shocker of a political ad.\n\nIt drags politics into the gutter, is the sort of thing I'd expect UKIP to mock up, and is not how politics should seek to address the national crisis of child abuse.\u201d— Owen Jones (@Owen Jones) 1680794158
\u201c@UKLabour\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1680788892
\u201c@UKLabour Please withdraw this. It\u2019s lower than low and I\u2019m embarrassed to be a member when this is the way you campaign\u201d— The Labour Party (@The Labour Party) 1680788892
\u201cTelling that even Starmeroids are condemning this. \n\nSo gross. Weaponising the sexual assault of children, and purposely picturing Rishi Sunak. \n\nWith each passing day, Starmer\u2019s Labour sinks to new lows\u201d— Jason Reid (@Jason Reid) 1680822017
\u201cThis is one of the worst political adverts in recent UK history and not the first time Labour has pandered to prejudice in the hope of electoral gain.\u201d— George Eaton (@George Eaton) 1680796705
Politicians past and present, from across the political spectrum, have also called out the ad:
\u201cAppalling - pls delete \ud83d\udc47\nWe should be better than this.\n\nI\u2019ve called it out on my own side for stooping low and do so again now.\n\nAs democracy erodes globally we are still seen as a democratic exemplar. \n\nNot if this is becomes the norm and it puts people off entering politics.\u201d— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias Ellwood MP) 1680807324
\u201cThis is not the sort of politics a Labour Party, confident of its own values and preparing to govern, should be engaged in. I say to the people who have taken the decision to publish this ad, please withdraw it. We, the Labour Party, are better than this.\u201d— John McDonnell MP (@John McDonnell MP) 1680811079
\u201cThis is absolutely nauseating. Politics cheapened and debased. The Labour Party wants to win, of course, but like this?\u201d— JOHN NICOLSON M.P. (@JOHN NICOLSON M.P.) 1680805501
\u201cThis really is a new low in British politics. \n\nAn official Labour Party advertisement accusing the @Conservatives PM @RishiSunak *personally* of wanting convicted child abusers to escape justice. \n\nAppalling. Gutter politics from a Leader Keir Starmer who should know better\ud83d\udc47\u201d— George Freeman MP (@George Freeman MP) 1680853571
\u201cIs someone going to point out that this is about laws, sentencing guidelines and judicial practices? That were not and would not be different under Labour? Or talk about how ever tougher sentences have overcrowded prisons? \nLet\u2019s have some policy not polarisation.\u201d— Rory Stewart (@Rory Stewart) 1680813605
\u201cSurvivors of childhood sexual abuse deserve better from the criminal justice system and from their elected representatives. \n\nThis ad is ill-judged. Those of us who want a Labour government deserve campaign materials we can be proud to take into our communities.\u201d— Monica Lennon MSP (@Monica Lennon MSP) 1680813126
Actual lawyers also pointed out the flaws in Labour’s line of attack, too:
\u201cIdiotic line by Labour.\n\nSunak and his party have devastated the criminal justice system through gleeful defunding of its constituent parts, causing record backlogs and delays of years.\n\nBut he is not responsible for sentences imposed in a relatively small number of cases.\u201d— The Secret Barrister (@The Secret Barrister) 1680804389
\u201cSentencing is a matter for judges.\n\nSome offences catch a wide spectrum of behaviour.\n\nThis is a disgraceful advert.\n\nAs a former Director of Public Prosecutions (under whose leadership, adults convicted of these offences also didn\u2019t go to jail), @Keir_Starmer should know better.\u201d— David Wolfson (@David Wolfson) 1680815662
\u201cWhen you\u2019re being trolled by 30p Lee, you know this has backfired @labourpress @UKLabour @Keir_Starmer . You\u2019re going to blow this by being Aldi Tories.\u201d— India Willoughby (@India Willoughby) 1680858227
And on top of all that, a ‘Community Note’ – a Twitter tool whereby extra context and fact-checks can be added to a tweet – has since appeared underneath the post, pointing out “the current sentencing guidelines for this crime has a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment” and “there is no Conservative Party policy that plans to remove this”.
Nevertheless, despite all the backlash, members of Labour’s shadow cabinet have defended the attack ad:
Lucy Powell, the shadow culture secretary, told Sky News: “There are real deep rooted problems in our criminal justice system at the moment, for which the prime minister – obviously, as the prime minister of the country – is responsible for.
“These are figures not just from 2010, they’re over this whole period of 13 years of Conservative rule.”
When it was pointed out that Mr Sunak had only been prime minister for the last year, Ms Powell added: “But he is the prime minister, he is the current prime minister, he is the prime minister of the Conservative Party, of a Conservative government. We are highlighting their record when it comes to sentencing and what is happening in our criminal justice system.”
\u201cShadow Culture Secretary Lucy Powell MP admits a Labour social media post which claimed Rishi Sunak doesn't think child sex abusers should go to prison "won't be to everybody's taste"\n\nhttps://t.co/K8appOa0xE\n\n\ud83d\udcfa Sky 501, Virgin 602, Freeview 233 and YouTube\u201d— Sky News (@Sky News) 1680852095
She also confirmed she was “comfortable” with Labour using a “standardised graphic” Mr Sunak has used before to highlight the criminal justice system “isn’t working” – but conceded the ad “won’t be to everybody’s taste”.
That’s probably a bit of an understatement, Lucy!
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