Sir Keir Starmer took aim at the “toxic division” of Reform UK as he delivered a major speech amid warnings his premiership is in its “end of days” over the Lord Mandelson scandal.
The Prime Minister made reference to Nigel Farage’s party as he spoke in East Sussex this morning.
He said every moment not spent talking about the cost of living and fighting against “toxic” Reform is wasted.
“My message is that every minute we spent talking about anything other than the cost of living, pride in place, how we stabilise our economy and how we make the massive argument we need to make,” Sir Keir told reporters.
“That we must unite this country, understand that to be British is to be tolerant, reasonable, compassionate and diverse, and fight for it against the toxic division of Reform.”
During his speech, the PM said British politics is in a “dangerous era”.
He said: “That is our task again because politics in this dangerous era, it’s no longer about left and right,
“But a contest between renewal and grievance, between those who believe society is a zero-sum competition and those who believe we can unite for the higher purpose of our community, our country, our common good.
Keir Starmer took aim at Reform’s ‘toxic division’ during his speech
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“This Government chooses the path of unity because that is the only way we can change Britain, the only way we can take control of our future, stand up to the world and walk forward together.”
Sir Keir also took a swipe at Reform’s candidate for the upcoming Gorton and Denton by-election, Matthew Goodwin.
He said: “You see it in the industrialised grievance factory, in parts of social media, miserable video after measurable video telling you that entire cities and towns, the great communities of this country are wastelands, no-go zones.
“And worse, selling the lie defied every day by millions of people in this country that people who look different cannot really live together. I reject that completely.
Keir Starmer said Britain’s politics is in a ‘dangerous era’
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“And you see it in politicians like the Reform candidate for Gorton and Denton who look at people like Rishi Sunak, Shabana Mahmood…and say they can’t really be English or Welsh or Scottish because they are not white.
“An affront to British values as I see them and I tell you, as long as I’ve got breath in my body, I will always fight against that politics.”
Sir Keir’s premiership is under growing pressure from MPs, who are angry at his decision to approve the appointment of ambassador to Lord Mandelson, despite knowing he had links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Speaking to GB News yesterday, Shadow Chancellor Sir Mel Stride suggested the “end of days” is looming for the PM.
The Labour leader admitted at Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday he knew about Lord Mandelson’s ongoing friendship with the late disgraced financier when he appointed him, but said that the peer “lied repeatedly” about the extent of the relationship.
He today apologised for having “believed Mandelson’s lies” and insisted he was unaware of the “depth and the darkness” of the relationship between the former ambassador to the US and Epstein upon appointing him.
Sir Keir said: “I am sorry. Sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you.
“Sorry for having believed Mandelson’s lies and appointed him and sorry that even now you are forced to watch this story unfold in public once again.
“But I also want to say this, in this country we will not look away, we will not shrug our shoulders and we will not allow the powerful to treat justice as optional.
“We will pursue the truth, we will uphold the integrity of public life and we will do everything within our power and the interests of justice to ensure accountability is delivered.”