Is it political hypocrisy when a politician is made to resign because his opinions embarr his party leader?

I am thinking about the recent resignation of a Midlands MP who stated that he thought Enoch Powell was correct when he forecast that uncontrolled immigration would change the UK irrevocably, and who was subsequently hounded out of office with the Labour Party calling for his sacking as his comments were unacceptable. Is this really punishing a racist or is it a vote catching at the expense of healthy debate?