The chair of the UK’s largest arts centre has been accused of comparing Reform UK’s electoral success to the events that led to the Holocaust.
Misan Harriman, who has been chair of the Southbank Centre in London since 2021, recorded himself reflecting on the results.
He said the “first thing that came to mind” was a quote by Susan Sontag on the Holocaust.
Citing Sontag, he said: “Ten per cent of people in any population are cruel, no matter what, and ten per cent is merciful, no matter what, and the other remaining 80 per cent could be moved in either direction.
“It's such a profound way to look at us. And in the context of yesterday’s election results is something I think is really topical. The surge of Reform is real, no one should deny it.”
Karen Pollock, chief executive of Holocaust Education Trust, criticised Harriman’s take as “shocking”.
She wrote: “Whatever one’s political view, how on Earth could yesterday’s election results ever be comparable to the Holocaust – the mechanised state sponsored murder of six million Jews by Nazis and their collaborators?”
Comparing the millions who voted Reform on Thursday to the Nazis is disgusting.
— Robert Jenrick (@RobertJenrick) May 9, 2026
This crass moron should be nowhere near a taxpayer funded organisation. https://t.co/bB1lNPF2c0
Shadow Chancellor of Reform UK, Robert Jenrick, also condemned Harriman.
“Comparing the millions who voted Reform on Thursday to the Nazis is disgusting. This crass moron should be nowhere near a taxpayer funded organisation,” Jenrick said.
Posting on X, anti-racism campaigner Heidi Bachram wrote: “Misan Harriman has some thoughts on the surge of Reform at the elections this week. He compares it to the Holocaust. This is truly disgusting.”
Harriman denied he made the comparison. Responding to Bachram, he accused her of clipping less than a minute of his video “to misrepresent me”.
“I use a quote from a conversation with Kurt Vonnegut and Susan Sontag, in which she discusses human behaviour after studying the Holocaust. In that context, I talk about human behaviour and how we can build community in the lead-up to the next general election. In this video, I actually say that Reform voters are not devils. Yet due to NOT watching the full video, [Robert Jenrick] is saying I am comparing reform voters to Nazis. Truth matters, folks, even on X.”
In the longer video, Harriman said that “many people, by the way, that voted for Reform, they’re not devils. They’ve been just reading certain newspapers, reading certain news clips, listening to certain charlatans, and it has done the work as it was intended.”
It's wild that I have to do this, but @HeidiBachram clipped 57 seconds of this video to misrepresent me. I use a quote from a conversation with Kurt Vonnegut and Susan Sontag, in which she discusses human behaviour after studying the Holocaust. In that context, I talk about human… pic.twitter.com/kYUh4oyrN5
— Misan Harriman (@misanharriman) May 9, 2026
Harriman, who wore a shirt while filming the clip that read “No amount of propaganda should convince you that some children don’t deserve to grow up”, has voiced pro-Palestinian views and has at times expressed support for the Green Party.
Since posting the original video he has reshared claims that the attacks against him were part of an “coordinated smear campaign”.
Nigerian-born Harriman, a photographer, is the son of billionaire businessman and politician Chief Hope Harriman, and a descendant of Nigerian royalty.
He has shot numerous well known figures including Tom Cruise, Rihanna, Olivia Colman, and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Meghan.
Last year, he was named as one of the UK’s most influential black people in the 2026 Powerlist.
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