Michael Gove accused of racial stereotyping after mocking 'dem man' Stormzy

• Cabinet minister Michael Gove has been criticised after he attempted to mock the rapper Stormzy for supporting Labour in the general election.
• The Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster said Stormzy was a "far, far better rapper than he is a political analyst" and quoted his lyrics in an attempt at humour.
• Labour MP David Lammy said Gove was "sanctioning crass stereotypes after telling an intelligent, successful young black man to stay out of politics."
• It came after Stormzy urged his fans to register to vote, and said he would be supporting Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.

Michael Gove has been accused of racial stereotyping after mocking the rapper Stormzy for backing Labour in the upcoming general election.

The Chancellor for the Duchy of Lancaster said that Stormzy, who on Monday urged young people to register to vote for Labour, was a "far, far better rapper than he is a political analyst."

Labour's education secretary, Angela Rayner responded on Twitter that Gove was "crap at both."

Gove responded by quoting Rayner's tweet and adding "I set trends dem man copy," a line from Stormzy's hit single "Shut Up."

Conservative European Parliament member Dan Hannan replied to Gove: "Big man ting"

Their response was instantly criticised by opposition politicians as well as academics.

Labour MP David Lammy said Gove was "sanctioning crass stereotypes after telling an intelligent, successful young black man to stay out of politics."

"Challenge stereotypes, don't compound them."

Paul Bernal, an associate professor of law at the University of East Anglia, said: "This is the Twitter equivalent of blackface."

Angela Rayner had previously criticised Gove, formerly the Education Secretary, for his admission that he had taken cocaine as a youth. She said Stormzy was a better role model for young people.

"What's the difference between Michael Gove & Stormzy?" she tweeted.

"One is a decent role model for our youth enabling them to aspire to great things, the other took class A illegal drugs & made a mess of reforms to the education system, locking out many young talented [people.]"

In a long message posted on Twitter on Monday, Stormzy urged his fans to register to vote and said he would be supporting Labour and Jeremy Corbyn.

"In my 26 years of life I have never trusted politicians or relied on them to be the bearers of hope and righteous people that we've needed them to be," he wrote.

"And for me, he is the first man in a position of power who is committed to giving the power back to the people and helping those who need a helping hand from the government the most."

Stormzy criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson's "long record of lying and policies that have absolutely no regard for the people that our government should be committed to helping and empowering."

He continued: "I also believe it is criminally dangerous to give the most powerful role in the country to a man who has said that the sight of a 'bunch of black kids' makes him 'turn a hair', compared women in burqas to letterboxes and referred to black people as 'piccaninnies' with 'watermelon smiles'.

"I think it's extremely dangerous to have a man with those views as the sole leader of our country."

There was a surge in people registering to vote in the immediate wake of Stormzy's comments, according to the latest official figures.

Gove responded, saying that "I think we again know that Stormzy, when he took to Glastonbury on stage wearing a stab vest, he made clear what his political views were then."

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