Last week, Lucy Powell, Leader of the House of Commons, delivered what may go down as one of the most revealing moments of the party’s relationship with Britain’s most harrowing child abuse scandal.
On BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions, Ms. Powell dismissed concerns about the grooming gangs crisis as a “dog whistle” tactic, sneering at journalist Tim Montgomerie’s mention of a new documentary exposing the decades-long horrors faced by thousands of working-class girls.
Rather than acknowledge the pain or discuss accountability, Lucy reached for sarcasm: “Oh, we want to blow that little trumpet now, do we” and “Let’s get that dog whistle out, shall we?”
The backlash was instant – and deserved. Yet instead of sacking Ms. Powell, Prime Minister Keir Starmer backed her “apology,” claiming her words “did not reflect her true views.” An insult to national intelligence. Because the truth is – they did.
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Sneers, deflections and familiar lines
The most damning part of Ms. Powell’s outburst wasn’t just its cruelty. It was how closely it echoed Mr. Starmer himself. Back in January, when the grooming gang scandal re-entered the public sphere, the Prime Minister accused opponents of wanting to “jump on a bandwagon of the far Right.”
One can’t help but note the symmetry: Powell with “dog whistle,” Starmer with “far-Right bandwagon.” Neither attempted to address the legitimate outrage of families or the documented failures of state institutions.
Instead, both insinuated that concern itself was suspect – perhaps even racist. This isn’t a one-off gaffe. It’s party orthodoxy.
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The government’s pattern of contempt
Powell’s comments join a long line of dismissals from the government’s figures who can barely contain their irritation at having to discuss the rape gangs.
Jess Phillips, the government’s safeguarding minister, visibly scoffed when Conservative MP Katie Lam demanded answers on why promised judicial inquiries were downgraded to council-led probes – the very councils often complicit in previous cover-ups.
Phillips all but accused Lam of caring about “one kind of victim.” Yet it’s Labour that continues to minimise this particular scandal. Why? Because it’s politically inconvenient.
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The culture of cowardice and denial
It is not new for this government to shrink from the grooming gang crisis. As far back as 2003, Ann Cryer – a Labour MP herself – was labelled a racist for daring to speak up.
And in 2014, Alexis Jay’s report laid bare how authorities in Rotherham failed to act for fear of “being seen as racist.” That fear still rules today.
Not because it protects communities, but because it shields Labour from accusations it has come to dread more than failing the vulnerable: being seen as “right-wing.” What does that say about their moral compass?
A national scandal, a national betrayal
For over two decades, thousands of girls – overwhelmingly white, working class, many of them in ‘care’ – were groomed, raped, trafficked, and in some cases, murdered. And yet to this day, this government appears to treat the scandal as an electoral headache rather than a national tragedy. When Ms. Powell sneered last week, she wasn’t merely offering a personal misjudgement.
She was channelling the latent condescension of a political class that finds the victims inconvenient and the outrage embarrassing. The mask slipped, and behind it: indifference.
The price of political expediency
It is no surprise the party has resisted every call for a full statutory inquiry. Because such an inquiry would shine light not just on the criminals, but on the enablers: local councils, social workers, police departments – and yes, politicians.
In choosing to turn inward, to defend itself instead of seeking justice, Labour has placed its reputation above the lives of abused girls. Even now, the PM claims this isn’t the time for scrutiny. When, then, is the right time?
A reckoning still to come
The government can paper over this moment with mealy-mouthed apologies and hollow clarifications, but the public sees through it. The anger is not partisan.
It’s human. When safeguarding collapses and institutions cover their ears, citizens demand answers – not accusations of dog-whistling.
Lucy Powell’s sneer was a moment of clarity. Mr. Starmer’s defence of her, a moment of cowardice. Until the government confronts the moral decay that enabled these crimes to persist, it forfeits any rightful claim to the trust of the British people.
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Read and pray
READ: Isaiah 1:23; Micah 6:8; Matt 23:23; Eph 5:11..
PRAY: Pray for the rape victims. Pray for the UK. Pray for our leaders to lead in wisdom and the fear of God.
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Testing, as it has not been possible previously to comment here. Thinking of VE Day, it has occurred to me that two world wars converted many of our brightest and best into bird food. Or if not, the vast cemeteries in Northern France contain their remains. It is perhaps not surprising that we are now, as Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, in an age of little men. And they get smaller and smaller all the time. May God have mercy.