'It's a racist slur': Labour MPs condemn Corbynista activists for branding middle-aged white men 'Gammon' as they warn the insults against key voters could keep party out of power
- Insults like 'gammon' are increasingly deployed by Corbyistas on social media
- Labour MPs condemn the terms as racist abuse against middle aged white men
- Jibe often used against older men with ruddy complexions who don't like Corbyn
By
James Tapsfield, Political Editor For Mailonline
Published: 01:00 AEST, 15 May 2018 | Updated: 03:59 AEST, 15 May 2018
Labour MPs condemned Corbynista activists for 'racist' abuse of white middle-aged men today.
Backbenchers spoke out against the widespread use of insults like 'Gammon' - often used online against older white men who do not agree with
Jeremy Corbyn's views.
They warned that the growing popularity of such slurs among left-wing activists was alienating crucial voters and could cost Labour the next election.
Social media has become awash with jibes against those who do not share the views of the
Labour leadership.
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'Whether you consider the people being mocked to be discriminated against generally has nothing to do with whether using it is racist.'
Labour MP Neil Coyle said: 'The ugly party within a party need to prove they want to win, not just insult those we need to sustain/attract to win an election.'
But the complaints drew a furious response from left-wingers.
Mr Corbyn's former spokesman, Matt Zarb-Cousin, insisted 'no-one is born gammon'.
'Their complexion is a consequence of their state of mind. Angry, reactionary, red in the face in the Question Time audience,' he replied to Mr Perkins.
The MP shot back: 'Any "slur" that seeks to use a physical feature (white/ pink skin) as key component is CLEARLY racist.'
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Former shadow minister Toby Perkins said 'gammon' was 'clearly racist' as it used the colour of people's skin to degrade them " class="blkBorder img-share"/>
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Left-wing activists have widely shared memes like this one, branded the 'Wall of Gammon', which mocks audience members from BBC Question Time
Terms such 'melt' and 'centrist dad' are frequently deployed against older men who regard themselves as on the political soft-left mainstream, and might have voted for New Labour, but have no truck with Mr Corbyn.
Gammon is often used against middle-aged white men with ruddy complexions who voice concerns about issues like immigration, national security, or back Brexit.
Former shadow minister Toby Perkins said 'gammon' was 'clearly racist' as it used the colour of people's skin to degrade them. He questioned whether the insult could be used against black people.
'Gammon is so obviously a racist slur, that I can't understand why people who generally decry racism think its ok to use it,' he said.