LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Tuesday accused hard-right politician Nigel Farage of crossing “a moral line" with his anti-immigtration stance, as the British leader contrasted his vision of “patriotic renewal” with what he called Farage's divisive poltics of grievance.
Battling dire approval ratings, a sluggish economy and questions about his leadership, Starmer came out swinging with a punchy speech saying that Britain faces
a “fight for the soul of our country” between the governing center-left Labour Party and Farage's Reform UK.
He told Labour's annual conference in Liverpool that while the country faces problems, “I just do not accept that Britain is broken,” and urged voters to reject “snake oil merchants on the right, on the left” who promise “a quick fix, a miracle cure.”
“When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future?” Starmer said, “He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does."
Since Labour won a landslide election victory in July 2024, its popularity has plummeted. The party promised economic growth, but has struggled to deliver. Inflation remains stubbornly high and the economic outlook subdued, frustrating efforts to repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living.
Treasury chief Rachel Reeves said Monday that wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs have caused “harsh global headwinds,” and hard economic choices loom when she sets out her budget in November.
Against that gloomy backdrop, Labour’s annual conference – motto: “Renew Britain” – has been dominated by conversations about how to fight Reform. Farage’s party has topped opinion polls for months, ahead of both Labour and the main opposition Conservatives, despite holding just five of the 650 seats in the House of Commons.
Farage’s anti-establishment, anti-immigration message, with its echoes of Trump’s MAGA movement, has homed in on the issue of thousands of migrants in small boats arriving in Britain across the English Channel. More than 30,000 people have made the dangerous crossing from France so far this year despite efforts by authorities in Britain, France and other countries to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.
Farage has vowed to deport everyone arriving by small boat and go even farther, stripping the right to remain in the U.K. from many legal residents.
Starmer said on the weekend that such a policy would be “racist” and “immoral.” He also has expressed alarm that a march organized by anti-immigration campaigner and convicted fraudster Tommy Robinson attracted more than 100,000 people in London this month.
In a sweeping hour-long speech, Starmer set out his vision for a government he said would marshal public and private investment to rebuild crumbling infrastructure, restore public services, improve education, build new homes and revive British industries from steelworks to data centers.
Stepping into culture wars territory that can be uncomfortable for Labour, he said people should be proud to fly national flags "as we celebrate difference and oppose racism."
He said it was a “reasonable demand” for people to want secure borders and to end unauthorized immigration, something his government has struggled to do so far.
“But there is a line, a moral line, and it isn’t just Farage who crosses it,” he said. “Controlling migration is a reasonable goal, but if you throw bricks and smash up private property that is not legitimate, that is thuggery.
“If you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern, that is criminal."
Farage accused Starmer of calling Reform supporters racist “by implication,” and called the speech "an absolute disgrace.”
The government doesn’t have to call an election until 2029, but already some Labour members are talking about replacing Starmer — especially if the party takes a hammering in local and regional elections in May.
A potential rival is Andy Burnham, the popular Labour mayor of Manchester, who has warned that the party is in “peril” and needs to change direction.
Starmer's speech — unusually passionate for a poltician known for his managerial approach — got an enthusiastic response from his Labour audience, and may quell doubts about his leadership for now.
“I think it was just what we needed,”said Jeannette Banks, a delegate from St. Helens, near Liverpool. “We need to call out the division in our society.”
Labour’s problems are not unique. Established parties around the globe are being challenged by anti-establishment populists. John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said voters have become “deeply pessimistic.”
“If you are going to turn the mood of the country around, you need to do more than change the reality. You also have to influence perception,” Curtice said. “And clearly the question being raised about the current Labour leadership is: Does it have the ability to change the mood?”
