Decades-old racism is resurfacing within UK the political arena, which leaves citizens deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer warned, cautioning that divisive hard-right political tactics was “dividing the nation”.
Speaking with GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister pointed to the Reform UK party of overseeing a return of discriminatory and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with years back”.
In the interview, broadcast on a popular morning program on Tuesday, the PM also gave a clear indication that the limit on child benefits would be lifted during the upcoming fiscal announcement in the coming weeks.
Asked whether he planned to eliminate this restriction, which charities have said is a major cause of poverty for children across Britain, the Prime Minister said: “I want to state unequivocally I am committed to drive child poverty down.”
He outlined steps ministers have already introduced including free school meals, morning meal programs, and childcare and emphasized: “Further action is necessary, and I pledge that I will personally focus to cutting childhood poverty.”
When pressed on whether his comments indicated he intended to remove the two-child cap, he said “It would be misleading to claim we are going to drive down child poverty without being sure that we will be taking several steps for that purpose”.
Rachel Reeves, provided a similarly clear signal on Monday when she told a national radio station that ultimately, no child should suffer because their parents don’t have very much money”.
Ministers are reportedly planning to lift the limit entirely, after initially considering phasing it out either for very large families or wealthier families. An economic thinktank has estimated this would cost about £3.5bn by 2029-30.
During the discussion, the Prime Minister explained the political divide currently in Britain was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” and “the toxic division of Reform” and others on the right who were “tearing our country apart”.
“Some of the rhetoric we’re hearing – discriminatory talk, polarizing language – that many assumed was resolved in the past is returning to politics leaving people fearful,” he stated.
“It is essential to oppose to that racism, that division, and we have to proudly say that British identity means showing empathy, is to be reasonable, is to be tolerant and compassionate, and this is our pride.”
The prime minister mirrored sentiments used by Wes Streeting, who warned earlier this month that an “ugly” racism reminiscent of past decades had become alarmingly frequent once more with healthcare workers were bearing the brunt of this trend.
The health secretary said incidents of both verbal and physical attacks based on people’s skin colour had become so frequent making it “socially acceptable to be racist”.
“We must end on racism in this country and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that’s found expression nationally where it belongs and reestablish an environment in this country where it is not socially acceptable to be racist,” Streeting stated.
The Prime Minister spoke at the Labour party conference in September to outline political battle lines between himself and Farage, saying that the public faced a pivotal moment.
He explained he was engaged in a struggle for the nation’s identity, noting although voters had “reasonable” concerns regarding unauthorized immigration, there was “a moral line” which some politicians had crossed.
Starmer pledged to “fight” those claiming that non-white individuals were not truly British and that families residing in the UK for generations should be deported, stating people promoting such views were “an enemy of national renewal”.
“If you incite racial attacks and hostility, that is not expressing concern: it is illegal. This party – this great party – values national symbols, yet if they are painted with hateful messages, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride; that’s racism,” he told activists.
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