Starmer to condemn Farage's ‘dangerous right-wing politics' as Reform UK surges in the polls

Independent

23-02-2025

Sir Keir Starmer will condemn the "dangerous right-wing politics" of Reform UK and insist that Nigel Farage 's party are "not the answer for Britain".
In a sign of growing fears in Downing Street at Reform's surge in the polls, the prime minister will take the fight directly to the insurgent right-wing party, arguing its policies are 'alien' to the needs of working people.
Mr Farage's party topped Labour in Techne's weekly tracker poll for The Independent for the first time last week, with 26 per cent of the popular vote, and is on course to win its first seats at Holyrood in next May's Scottish elections.
And, addressing the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, Sir Keir will challenge gathered MSPs, MPs and activists to 'show a path to the future', warning that if his party does not then 'others will fill that void'.
The PM will say that, with their "dangerous right-wing politics", Reform "will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people".
But he will insist that "their proposals do precisely the opposite", adding that Labour has "to be ready for this test, ready to point out that beneath the bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people".
Hitting out at Mr Farage's party, which won five seats in last year's general election, the Sir Keir will say: "You want to know what Farage and Reform are doing, on their rare visits to Parliament?
"They're voting against our employment right bill. They talk the language of workers' rights online and on doorsteps, but they want to charge people to use the NHS.
"They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain. And it will never be the answer for Scotland."
Labour has increasingly been attempting to take the fight to Reform, amid fears the party is riding a wave of discontent at Sir Keir's government and could unseat scores of his MPs at the next general election.
Sir Keir also privately wrote to his cabinet to warn of the threat of Reform, according to reports, telling his top team that 'if governments are not changing the system in favour of working people, then voters will find someone else who does'.
Left-wingers have condemned the party's attempts to apparently 'outdo' Mr Farage, publishing videos of illegal working raids and deportation flights while highlighting its record on deportations using Reform-style posters.
Veteran Labour MP and former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott has accused Sir Keir of turning Labour into 'Reform-lite'.
Sunday marks the first time Sir Keir has addressed the Scottish Labour conference since Labour won power in July's general election.
The prime minister will also use his speech to hit out at John Swinney 's Scottish government, accusing them of failing to seize the opportunities offered by his Labour administration in Westminster.
The SNP will come under fire for voting against Labour's budget, with Sir Keir to say the Scottish Government had been given a £47.7 billion settlement that was "the most money ever provided in the devolution era", providing a "stable foundation for the economy".
While he will say this cash provides "more money for Scottish schools, more money for Scottish hospitals, more money for Scottish police services, more money for Scotland", he will condemn the SNP for voting against it, claiming this shows "the same old SNP - gesture politics first, Scotland second".
Sir Keir will also raise the "possibilities for change" for Scotland if voters elected a Labour government at Holyrood in 2026.
He will tell the conference: "While we will work with whoever the Scottish people elect, just imagine what we could achieve, together.
"Imagine the possibilities for change. If we end the 19-year SNP rule in Scotland as emphatically as we ended 14 years of Tory rule in Britain.
"A Labour government in Westminster, a Labour government in Holyrood, with Anas Sarwar, a Labour first minister."
A Reform Scotland spokesperson said: "Keir Starmer can try and deflect all he wants but the reality is that he is failing Scotland and he is now a deeply unpopular figure here.
"Whilst Labour continue the Tory tradition of failing Scotland in Westminster, Reform offer real change from status quo. Scottish people are sick of Tory and Labour lies."
The spokesperson added: "Scotland is broken, Scotland needs Reform."
Meanwhile, SNP depute Westminster leader Pete Wishart said: "Sir Keir Starmer must do what Anas Sarwar failed to and take the opportunity tomorrow to apologise to the people of Scotland.
"Whether on Grangemouth, energy bills or their promises to pensioners, Starmer and the Labour Party promised change and have broken so many of those promises that they used to get elected - all while Anas Sarwar has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Sir Keir.
"The people of Scotland won't be fooled by Labour's empty rhetoric."
Mr Wishart went on: "It's clear Labour under Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer are in complete disarray.
"It is rich for Sir Keir to lecture the Scottish electorate on the dangers of Nigel Farage when the Labour party is locked in a battle for second place with him, pandering to his shameful ideologies."