Reform's new woman MP: ‘We will stand up to sexual violence from illegal migrants'

Telegraph

03-05-2025

Reform UK's first female MP has vowed to 'stand up' against sexual violence committed by illegal migrants.
Sarah Pochin, the newly elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, said that she was concerned by the attitudes of those in migrant hotels which she said was 'anti-Western women'.
She vowed to 'stand up for women' on the issue, which she said had been brought up to her by numerous female voters during her successful by-election campaign.
Mrs Pochin and Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the newly appointed Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, became the first senior female politicians to be elected for Reform.
The Runcorn MP accused Labour of having 'let down' women and girls, suggesting it was because the party did not sufficiently address sexual violence by migrants.
She told The Telegraph: 'It's really important that we stand up for women. One of the relevant things here in Runcorn particularly, is we have a problem – which people don't want to talk about, but I will talk about – of illegal immigration.
'We have a problem of houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs), and the hotel that we have here, and the private landlord housing that's now being used to move them out into the community.
'That is a problem for women's safety, and that certainly is an issue that I would like to very much raise.'
The party's popularity had previously been found to be higher among men than women, particularly younger voters.
Analysis from the end of last year found that 12.9 per cent of young men in the age group voted for Reform at the general election compared to just 5.9 per cent of women.
Asked what kind of issues Reform would pursue that were of importance to women, Mrs Pochin said that she would champion the tackling of sexual violence against women and girls.
Ms Pochin said that several women in Runcorn had visited her campaign office to discuss with her 'how threatened they feel now walking home, how they don't want to let their children of either sex, but particularly girls walk home from school.'
The former magistrate of more than 20 years said that 'law and order' would be a key concern of hers.
She added: 'The more HMOs we get with these legal immigrants in them, the more the threat of drug dealing goes on, the more the threat of grooming gangs starts.
'It's very very real, and anybody that, as I say, doesn't agree with that is in utter denial.'
An asylum hotel in Daresbury, in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency, had become one of the key issues of the by-election, with both Reform and Labour's candidates calling for it to close.
'Anti-Western women'
Mrs Pochin said: 'We know that Labour has let down these issues for women's safety, and we know as well that the culture of the people in these HMOs or hotels is very much one of anti-women, and particularly anti-Western women.
'I would say it will be something that will be absolutely on my radar.'
It comes after Labour came under fire over its handling of the grooming gangs scandal, and the Government's rejection of demands for a national public inquiry.
Ministers are awaiting the findings from an audit by Baroness Casey into grooming, its scale, nature and profile of the gangs behind it, including the characteristics of offenders.
But they have come under pressure from opposition figures, including Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, on the issue.
Data released in March by the Ministry of Justice revealed that 15 per cent of sexual offences, including rape, were accounted for by foreign nationals between 2021 and 2023.
Two nationalities – Afghans and Eritreans – were found to be more than 20 times more likely to account for sexual offence convictions than British citizens, according to the data.
The highest numbers of sex offence convictions were accounted for by Romanians, Poles, Indians and Pakistanis, according to data drawn from the police national computer.
Overall, foreign nationals were 71 per cent more likely than Britons to be responsible for sex crime convictions.
The Government has announced that the nationalities of foreign criminals in the UK will be published for the first time by the end of this year, under orders by the Home Secretary.
Last week, Yvette Cooper also announced that foreign sex offenders will be barred from gaining asylum.
The Home Office will receive powers to exclude any foreigners convicted of sex offences in the UK or abroad from protection under the Refugee Convention, even if their sentence is less than 12 months.
The plans were understood to have been drafted a year ago after it emerged that Abdul Ezedi, the Clapham chemical attacker, was granted asylum despite previously receiving two consecutive suspended jail sentences – of less than 12 months – for sexual assault and indecent exposure.
The announcement of the policy was seen as an attempt to stop Labour voters from abandoning the party for Reform ahead of the local elections.
But voters appeared to ditch the party in droves, including in Runcorn and Helsby, where Ms Pochin overturned a majority of over 14,000 to win by just six votes.
Reform also seized control of 10 councils, including Doncaster council from Labour.
Both Dame Andrea and Ms Pochin rejected the suggestion of a 'boys' club' image of Reform and that their election would put an end to it.
'I'm not a feminist'
Dame Andrea, a former Tory minister, said: 'I'm not a feminist. I'm a meritocrat anyway, so I won't care if the whole cabinet was men or women.'
Mrs Pochin said: 'I certainly don't consider myself as a woman in the sense of that's why I'm here. I just consider myself as a business person and with a lot to contribute.'
A Home Office source said: 'Those who come to our country should respect our laws. We are bringing in new legislation so we can more easily deport those who commit vile sexual offences.
'The Prime Minister has set out a historic mission to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, with new plans for better protection for women and to ensure the police relentlessly pursue the perpetrators of violence against women and girls, including sexual violence.'