Starmer: Reform is an ‘enemy’ of the country
Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to take the fight to Reform UK, who he described as an “enemy” of the country, ahead of the Labour Party conference this weekend.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has, meanwhile, said she wants to sign an “ambitious” new youth migration scheme with the EU, which she claimed would reduce the need for tax rises in the forthcoming budget.
Speaking ahead of the Labour conference in Liverpool, Sir Keir told the Guardian newspaper that the gathering was a “real opportunity for us to make our argument about patriotic national renewal, to own patriotism, to define it for what it is”.
The latest polling has placed Nigel Farage as the most likely politician to be the next prime minister, with Reform currently on track to win the most parliamentary seats if an election were held, according to YouGov.
In a message aimed at rallying a divided Labour against Reform, Sir Keir also told the Guardian: “History will not forgive us if we do not use every ounce of our energy to fight Reform. There is an enemy. There is a project which is detrimental to our country.
“It actually goes against the grain of our history. It’s right there in plain sight in front of us. We have to win this battle.”
Starmer facing Burnham speculation
Labour should not be introspective, Sir Keir told the newspaper, as he faces speculation that Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, is preparing to challenge his leadership.
“We do not have time for introspection. We have to unite and fight … we cannot miss this opportunity to set out our stall and take the fight to Reform,” Sir Keir said.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley told the PA news agency she did not think “anyone would deny” that her party has had “quite a challenging couple of weeks” amid calls for Mr Burnham to challenge the PM.
But she insisted that many more MPs are “frustrated” that their colleagues are already trying to topple Sir Keir.
Speaking to the Times, the Chancellor said she wanted the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to include the improved EU trading relationship brokered by Labour when it makes economic forecasts.
She also told the newspaper the Government wants “an ambitious youth experience scheme” to be scored by the OBR, as it would also be “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business”.
The scheme would allow young people from the UK to work, study and live on the continent, and vice versa, for an extended period of time.
While Ms Reeves was keen to stress the economic benefits of the scheme, the Times suggested it could lead to a new migration headache for the Government, as 50,000 Europeans a year could be eligible to live in the UK as a result of it.
Ahead of Labour conference, backbench MPs and unions have renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap.
Several MPs from Liverpool, the host city of the conference, were among those who wrote to the Prime Minister ahead of the gathering insisting the cap “is one of the most significant drivers of child poverty in Britain today”.
Debate over the future of the cap is among a number of areas of benefits policy where ministers could be challenged by Labour members in Liverpool.
Among those who have previously called for it to go is Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader who is the front runner in the race to become the next Labour deputy leader.
Labour MPs forced a U-turn on Sir Keir’s plans to cut the benefits bill earlier this year.
But in a hint that ministers are willing to return to the battle, Darren Jones, the PM’s chief secretary and a senior Cabinet Office minister, told the Telegraph that the benefits bill is “unsustainable in the long run”.
Sir Keir’s plans for a new digital ID system, unveiled at a conference of centre-left leaders in London on Friday, will also likely face scrutiny at the conference.
Senior Labour figures are meanwhile expected to set out the details of a fresh tranche of “New Towns” at the event.
By David Lynch, Will Durrant and David Hughes, PA Political Staff