Starmer suggests he regrets ‘island of strangers' speech

Telegraph

a day ago

Sir Keir Starmer has suggested he regrets his speech about Britain becoming an ' island of strangers '.
In an interview with The New Statesman, the Prime Minister admitted that he could have articulated himself better when asked about the remarks that saw him accused of 'imitating' Enoch Powell.
Sir Keir's major speech in May drew backlash from Left-wing critics for warning that Britain risked becoming an 'island of strangers' if immigration did not come down.
He was accused of 'reflecting the language' of Powell's infamous 'Rivers of Blood' speech, in which the former Tory Cabinet minister said the native British population had 'found themselves made strangers in their own country'.
At the time, No 10 rejected the comparison to Powell and insisted Sir Keir stood by his argument that 'migration needs to be controlled'.
But the Prime Minister has now signalled that he regrets the speech, insisting that the message he was 'trying to get across' was supposed to be about bringing people together.
Asked about the remarks in the interview, he told The New Statesman: 'The actual concept was – and I said it in the speech but it didn't come through in the same way, and that's down to me – is I want to lead a nation that can confidently walk forward together as neighbours, as communities, wherever people have come from and whatever their background.'
He insisted this was a 'progressive approach', but added: 'I think probably emphasising that bit of it more will get it across better in the future.'
The Prime Minister made the initial remarks in May, as he launched the Government's new plan to reduce the number of migrants coming to Britain.
He said in his original speech: 'Let me put it this way, nations depend on rules, fair rules.
'Sometimes they are written down, often they are not, but either way, they give shape to our values, guide us towards our rights, of course, but also our responsibilities, the obligations we owe to each other.
'In a diverse nation like ours ... we risk becoming an island of strangers, not a nation that walks forward together.'
He also said very high levels of immigration in recent years had caused 'incalculable' damage to the UK.
It prompted outrage from the Left, with Diane Abbott, the UK's first black female MP, later describing the 'island of strangers' comment as ' fundamentally racist '.
Sir Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, distanced himself from the remarks, while John McDonnell, the former Labour shadow chancellor, accused Sir Keir of 'reflecting the language of Enoch Powell'.
However, a poll published shortly after the speech suggested that his comments would resonate with many British people.
Half of adults responding to the survey by More in Common said they felt disconnected from society, while 44 per cent said they sometimes felt like a 'stranger' in their own country.
Elsewhere in the interview with The New Statesman, Sir Keir admitted that he struggles to convince the public he has the right answers to Britain's problems.
When it was put to him that he had difficulty with that aspect of the job, he said: 'Yes, I suppose I would accept that criticism.
'I probably live in a world where I want that to speak for itself, but I recognise, you know that it doesn't … I've always sort of operated in a world where it's probably better for other people to say you're doing a good job than say it yourself.'
It also emerged that he preferred to work from the sofa in his Downing Street 'study', rather than the desk in his office.
The article read: 'There is even a detachment from the building of No 10 itself, which bears few marks of his presence. His office has hardly any personal mementos – far fewer than it had under David Cameron or Boris Johnson.
'A sole photograph of his wife and children sits behind his desk, and a miniature World Cup trophy given to him by the former Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger.
'He prefers to work in 'the study' on the first floor, a bright but formal room off the state rooms where he can see his family flat above No 11.
'But here too, in the study, there aren't many signs of Starmer the man: no pieces of art chosen by him or even a desk. Instead, he prefers to sit on the sofa.'