Nigel Farage will launch a direct attack on “unpatriotic” and “out-of-touch” Sir Keir Starmer, as he positions Reform UK as the true opposition to Labour.
The Reform leader will use a major speech on Tuesday to accuse the Prime Minister of “betrayal” over his deal with the European Union and the handover of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
Allies said it was a “coming-of-age moment” for Reform after its successes in May’s council contests and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, which demonstrated that backing the party at the ballot box was not a wasted vote.
The speech, framed as Mr Farage’s “pitch to working people” will see the Reform leader flanked by council leaders, mayors and Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin.
A Reform source said Mr Farage will challenge Sir Keir “to go to a working man’s club in the north of England with him and see who connects better with working people”.
Labour defended Sir Keir, the son of a toolmaker, against the privately-educated “stockbroker and career politician”.
Mr Farage will accuse Sir Keir of being “a man that puts international courts before British sovereignty” and the “most unpatriotic PM in history”, the source said.
“He and his government are so hopelessly out of touch with working people. They U-turn on everything as they do not believe in anything.”
Mr Farage is expected to punch a Labour bruise by committing to scrapping the two-child benefit cap and reinstating the winter fuel payment, issues which are causing Sir Keir and Chancellor Rachel Reeves problems with their voters and MPs.
He is also expected to accuse Labour of lacking the will to bring net migration down to zero, and claim Sir Keir’s deal with the EU “betrays the very essence of Brexit”.
Labour Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: “Nigel Farage, a private-educated stockbroker and career politician, has only ever cared about his own self-interest and personal ambition, never about what is good for working people in this country.
“Farage wants to abolish the NHS, praised Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget, opposed Labour’s landmark employment reforms and said Jaguar Land Rover, a huge employer, deserves to go bust.
“His Reform manifesto included billions of pounds worth of unfunded spending pledges but did not commit to the triple lock. Farage must urgently clarify whether he will cut the state pension to pay for his reckless tax cuts.
“Keir Starmer’s Labour Government is delivering real improvement to working people’s lives through our plan for change that has seen NHS waiting lists fall, wages rising faster than prices, and four interest rate cuts in a year, turbo-charged by a trio of trade deals that are good for jobs, bills and borders.”
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