Pat Glass, Labour’s shadow Europe minister, has apologised after being caught on microphone calling a voter in Derbyshire a “horrible racist”.
Glass, who replaced Pat McFadden in the role when Jeremy Corbyn reshuffled his shadow cabinet in January, had been out on the campaign trail with a BBC local radio reporter, knocking on doors in the Derbyshire village of Sawley.
Thinking that their interview had ended, she said: “The very first person I come to is a horrible racist. I’m never coming back to wherever this is.”
The BBC said the man she was referring to later denied being a racist, but said that in his conversation with the MP he had spoken of a Polish family in the area who he thought were living on benefits. He had described them as “spongers”, the man told the BBC.
Glass later issued an apology, saying: “The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them. Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and it’s important that politicians engage with them. I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused.”
Labour sources were supportive of Glass, but the incident will stir memories of Gordon Brown’s embarrassment on the general election campaign trail in 2010 when he had to apologise to a voter, Gillian Duffy, after being recorded in a private conversation calling her a “bigoted woman”.
The government is unlikely to seek to make political capital out of Glass’s remarks, since Downing Street is on the same side as Labour in the campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
But her misstep will be seized on by those who view the pro-EU campaign as dominated by Westminster politicians distant from the concerns of ordinary voters.
Brendan Chilton, the general secretary of Labour Leave, the party’s campaign to exit the EU, condemned the remarks by Glass. He said: “These comments are nothing short of shocking. A significant number of Labour voters want to leave the EU, and have justified concerns with immigration.
“It is because of open-door immigration, among other issues like our national services, that I’m fighting for the UK to leave the European Union. Pat Glass’s comments do not reflect the views of a large number of Labour voters.
“The Labour party is split on the EU issue. Let’s make no bones about that.”
Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP who is co-chair of Vote Leave, has called her party’s decision to campaign to remain in the EU a “recruiting agent for Ukip” because it suggests that Labour is not sufficiently concerned about immigration.