Farage ‘introducing poison into politics', warns Starmer amid row over Reform ad
Nigel Farage is 'introducing poison into our politics', Sir Keir Starmer has said amid campaigning for the Hamilton by-election.
The Prime Minister suggested Reform UK is creating a 'toxic divide' with a campaign video produced by the party ahead of the vote.
Voters go to the polls on June 5 in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood constituency – a by-election called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.
Campaigning has seen a furore among political parties in Scotland over a Reform UK advert that claims Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar would 'prioritise' the Pakistani community.
The ad – which the SNP and Labour have demanded be removed by Meta – shows clips of Mr Sarwar calling for more representation of Scots with south Asian heritage, although he did not say he would prioritise any one group.
Labour has previously described the ad as 'blatantly racist'.
Speaking at a campaign event in north-west England on Thursday, Sir Keir said: 'What we've seen with Reform in Scotland in relation to this particular video is manipulation.
'It is, as ever with Reform and Nigel Farage, trying to divide people with a toxic divide, and to poison our politics.
'I think our politics is above that, and that's why I think it's absolutely right that Anas Sarwar has called this out for what it is.
'It is toxic divide, it is introducing poison into our politics, and that is exactly what turns people off politics.
'That is why restoring trust in politics is so important to my project and the project of Scottish Labour.'
Reform leader Mr Farage played the online ad at a press conference in London on Tuesday, before claiming Mr Sarwar had 'introduced sectarianism into Scottish politics'.
Responding to that comment earlier in the week, Mr Sarwar said he has fought against sectarianism all his adult life, and added: 'This is a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland.'
Meanwhile, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney has said the by-election is now a 'straight contest' between the SNP and Reform UK as he urged voters to back his party.
He previously said the race to win the South Lanarkshire seat is 'very tight' and a 'three-way contest' between the SNP, Labour, and Reform UK.
However, writing in the Daily Record on Thursday, the SNP leader said it is now a contest between two parties.
He wrote: 'This by-election is now a straight contest between the SNP and Nigel Farage's Reform UK.'
Mr Swinney described Mr Farage as a 'clear and present danger to our country' and said he must be stopped.
He wrote: 'The problem is that Labour can't do that. Their campaign is in collapse and Keir Starmer is busy pandering to Farage.
'And so, I am today asking Labour supporters to act.
'It's time to unite behind our shared principles, defeat Nigel Farage, and refuse to be divided by a man determined to destroy the values we hold dear.'
In his letter, Mr Swinney said Mr Farage is 'not a man who cares about Scotland' and accused him of 'promoting racist disinformation about my political rival, Labour's Anas Sarwar'.
He told voters the by-election gives them a chance to 'tell Nigel Farage that his poisonous politics are not welcome'.
Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said: 'This by-election is a direct fight between Scottish Labour and the SNP, and it is desperate and dishonest spin for John Swinney to pretend otherwise.
'John Swinney wants to make this by-election about Reform because he has no ideas for the future and cannot defend his Government's record.
'After 18 years, people right across Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse are dealing with the consequences of SNP incompetence – from long NHS waiting lists to struggling high streets to declining schools.
'Nigel Farage and the Reform party are not on the side of working people, they do not care about this community, and people will see right through them.
'The SNP deserve to lose this by-election and only Scottish Labour can beat them.'
Reform UK spokesman and Glasgow councillor Thomas Kerr said: 'Reform UK won't take any lectures on 'restoring trust in politics' from Sir Keir Starmer.
'This is a Prime Minister whose first decision in office was to plunge millions of pensioners into fuel poverty.
'Labour's campaign in Hamilton has been a calamity of car-crash gaffes from a candidate who ducks the media, a leader who forgets the candidate's name, and a Prime Minister who refuses to even turn up.
'Starmer and Sarwar have broken Scotland. Reform will fix it.'
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43 minutes ago
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The Scottish First Minster hit out at the Reform UK leader, claiming he was a 'real threat' ahead of voting in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on Thursday. Criticism has been levelled at Mr Farage's party after a Facebook ad claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was prioritising Pakistani people over Scots and included a section of a speech in which he encouraged more people from south Asian backgrounds to enter politics. Addressing activists – including a number of MSPs, former MPs and candidates for the 2026 Holyrood election – in Hamilton on Saturday, Mr Swinney contrasted Reform UK with former minister Christina McKelvie, whose death prompted the by-election. 'This is a by-election that none of us wanted to be fighting, because it meant that we'd lost somebody we loved, Christina McKelvie, who was an individual that represented generosity, tolerance and inclusion,' he said. 'That was how she went about her work in this constituency and in Parliament, and that's the antithesis of what's been brought into this by-election campaign by the politics of Nigel Farage, who's brought racism and hatred right into the heart of this community, and it is repugnant. 'We are going to stand up to it in every way we can.' In response to journalists, the First Minister said he was not concerned about defamation claims stemming from his allegations of racism against Mr Farage. When the by-election was called, it was widely seen as a two-horse race between the SNP's Katy Loudon and Labour's Davy Russell, but recent weeks have seen a surge in fortune for Mr Farage's party. Speaking to the PA news agency after his speech, the First Minister said it is 'very clear' that Labour is 'out of this contest' and it is now 'between the SNP and Farage'. 'I want to make sure that Farage's politics don't get any hold in Scotland, they are damaging,' he said. In his speech, the First Minister repeatedly referenced Mr Farage, but when asked if he was increasing the chance of Reform gaining a foothold by paying the party's leader so much attention, Mr Swinney said: 'I've just got to make sure that people in this constituency are aware of the threat that Farage poses in this election. 'If Farage gets in here, then you know the agenda of NHS privatisation is what will follow, the agenda of undermining the Scottish Parliament will follow, because that's what he believes in.' Elsewhere in Hamilton on Saturday, Reform UK's candidate Ross Lambie gathered activists ahead of a canvassing session, including some bussed into the constituency from the north of England. Speaking to journalists, Mr Lambie was asked why the parties believed to be the frontrunners at the beginning of the campaign were spending so much time on Reform. 'They're doing their canvassing and they're getting the same results as we are, that's why,' he said. He added: 'We are super proud that we're not being pigeon-holed with any particular voter and we're not being boxed into certain aspects of the community. 'We're getting votes from across the area. 'If you were to chat to these volunteers, you'll find some of them were SNP voters in the past, many of them were Labour voters, Conservative voters. 'So that's the thing we're most proud of, that we're breaking down those old barriers in Scottish politics.' Mr Sarwar said Labour is still in the race for the seat in Thursday's vote. 'It's between ourselves and the SNP, every single vote is going to count,' he told PA on Saturday. 'That's why, if you want to beat the SNP, if you want a local champion, if you want to start that pathway to a new direction, the best way of doing that is to vote for one of your own – vote for Davy Russell.' The Labour leader also accused the First Minister of 'talking up Reform for a very, very long time', an assertion Mr Swinney rejects, while saying he would 'call out Nigel Farage's poison'.
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43 minutes ago
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Farage has brought ‘racism and hatred' to Hamilton by-election, says Swinney
Nigel Farage has been accused of 'racism and hatred' by John Swinney in the last weekend of campaigning before polls open in the Hamilton by-election. The Scottish First Minster hit out at the Reform UK leader, claiming he was a 'real threat' ahead of voting in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election on Thursday. Criticism has been levelled at Mr Farage's party after a Facebook ad claimed Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was prioritising Pakistani people over Scots and included a section of a speech in which he encouraged more people from south Asian backgrounds to enter politics. Addressing activists – including a number of MSPs, former MPs and candidates for the 2026 Holyrood election – in Hamilton on Saturday, Mr Swinney contrasted Reform UK with former minister Christina McKelvie, whose death prompted the by-election. 'This is a by-election that none of us wanted to be fighting, because it meant that we'd lost somebody we loved, Christina McKelvie, who was an individual that represented generosity, tolerance and inclusion,' he said. 'That was how she went about her work in this constituency and in Parliament, and that's the antithesis of what's been brought into this by-election campaign by the politics of Nigel Farage, who's brought racism and hatred right into the heart of this community, and it is repugnant. 'We are going to stand up to it in every way we can.' In response to journalists, the First Minister said he was not concerned about defamation claims stemming from his allegations of racism against Mr Farage. When the by-election was called, it was widely seen as a two-horse race between the SNP's Katy Loudon and Labour's Davy Russell, but recent weeks have seen a surge in fortune for Mr Farage's party. Speaking to the PA news agency after his speech, the First Minister said it is 'very clear' that Labour is 'out of this contest' and it is now 'between the SNP and Farage'. 'I want to make sure that Farage's politics don't get any hold in Scotland, they are damaging,' he said. In his speech, the First Minister repeatedly referenced Mr Farage, but when asked if he was increasing the chance of Reform gaining a foothold by paying the party's leader so much attention, Mr Swinney said: 'I've just got to make sure that people in this constituency are aware of the threat that Farage poses in this election. 'If Farage gets in here, then you know the agenda of NHS privatisation is what will follow, the agenda of undermining the Scottish Parliament will follow, because that's what he believes in.' Elsewhere in Hamilton on Saturday, Reform UK's candidate Ross Lambie gathered activists ahead of a canvassing session, including some bussed into the constituency from the north of England. Speaking to journalists, Mr Lambie was asked why the parties believed to be the frontrunners at the beginning of the campaign were spending so much time on Reform. 'They're doing their canvassing and they're getting the same results as we are, that's why,' he said. He added: 'We are super proud that we're not being pigeon-holed with any particular voter and we're not being boxed into certain aspects of the community. 'We're getting votes from across the area. 'If you were to chat to these volunteers, you'll find some of them were SNP voters in the past, many of them were Labour voters, Conservative voters. 'So that's the thing we're most proud of, that we're breaking down those old barriers in Scottish politics.' Mr Sarwar said Labour is still in the race for the seat in Thursday's vote. 'It's between ourselves and the SNP, every single vote is going to count,' he told PA on Saturday. 'That's why, if you want to beat the SNP, if you want a local champion, if you want to start that pathway to a new direction, the best way of doing that is to vote for one of your own – vote for Davy Russell.'
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44 minutes ago
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Farage has brought ‘racism and hatred' to Hamilton by-election, says Swinney
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