Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned that racism is re-emerging in British politics, saying it “makes people feel very scared” and accusing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of promoting divisive, hard-right rhetoric that is “tearing our country apart.”
Speaking to GP and TV personality Amir Khan on ITV’s Lorraine, Starmer said he believed the UK was seeing the return of “racist and divisive politics” that he thought had been left behind decades ago.
🇬🇧 “It makes people feel very scared”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer
The Prime Minister said:
“Some of the rhetoric we’re hearing – racist rhetoric, divisive rhetoric – that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago is returning to politics, and it makes people feel very scared.”
Starmer said the divide in Britain was no longer between left and right, but between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” and the “toxic division” of the far-right.
“We have to stand up to that racism, that division, and proudly say that to be British is to have concern for others, to be reasonable, tolerant and compassionate – and we’re proud of that.”
Starmer hits out at 'racist rhetoric returning to politics' which 'makes people feel very scared'
'As a brown person I’ve never felt more unsafe in the country I was born in', @DrAmirKhanGP tells the PM
The interview also saw Starmer give his strongest signal yet that Labour could scrap the two-child benefit cap in the upcoming Budget.
Asked if he would lift the limit – which charities say is the single biggest driver of child poverty – Starmer said:
“I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to drive child poverty down.”
He listed measures already introduced, including free school meals, breakfast clubs and expanded childcare, but added that “more must be done.”
Pressed further, Starmer said:
“I wouldn’t be telling you we are going to drive down child poverty if I wasn’t clear that we will be taking a number of measures in order to do so.”
Chancellor Rachel Reeves also hinted on BBC Radio 5 Live that the policy could change, saying:
“A child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money.”
According to the Resolution Foundation, lifting the cap entirely would cost around £3.5 billion by 2030.
🗣️ “Fight for the soul of our country”
Starmer’s warning about racism echoed comments from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who told The Guardian that racial abuse in the NHS had become so common that it was once again “socially acceptable to be racist.”
“We’ve got to call time on racism in this country,” Streeting said, “and put that ugly sentiment back in its box.”
Starmer also revisited his Labour conference speech, where he accused Farage and others of crossing a “moral line” by promoting ideas that suggest non-white Britons “cannot be English.”
“If you incite racist violence and hatred, that’s not expressing concern – it’s criminal,” Starmer said. “We are proud of our flags, but if they’re painted next to graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism.”
Joe Connor is a UK-based reporter specialising in politics, public policy, and national affairs. He has previously contributed to publications including The London Economic (JOE Media Group) and Spotted News.
At The Daily Britain, he covers Westminster politics, elections, and breaking political developments, alongside in-depth analysis of policy decisions and their real-world impact.
For Starmer to call Reform racist is slanderous and insulting to all Reform supporters who want their country back. We have no more room for free loading immigrants, illegal or othetwise. They are not British as the hordes of boat people over the years are not British. London is being overtaken by people not born in the U.K. They are not U.K. citizens. They are not British. Follow Poland. Protect the legal British population.
David
For Starmer to call Reform racist is slanderous and insulting to all Reform supporters who want their country back. We have no more room for free loading immigrants, illegal or othetwise. They are not British as the hordes of boat people over the years are not British. London is being overtaken by people not born in the U.K. They are not U.K. citizens. They are not British. Follow Poland. Protect the legal British population.