Keir Starmer has attacked Reform UK’s plan to deport thousands of people already legally living in the UK as “racist” and “immoral”, as he said that Labour had a generational struggle ahead with the populist right.
The prime minister, in Liverpool for his party conference, said he did not think that Nigel Farage’s party was trying to appeal to racists, and that he understood people tempted to vote for Reform were frustrated and wanted change.
But he said the rightwing party’s proposal to entirely abolish the main route for immigrants to gain British citizenship could “tear this country apart”.
Reform has pledged to abolish indefinite leave to remain, which is open to people who have worked and lived in the UK legally for five continuous years and their dependents, threatening tens of thousands of people legally living in the UK with deportation unless they meet strict rules.
Starmer told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme: “Well, I do think that it is a racist policy. I do think it is immoral. It needs to be called out for what it is.”
Asked if Reform was trying to appeal to racists, he added: “No, I think there are plenty of people who either vote Reform or are thinking of voting Reform who are frustrated.
“They had 14 years of failure under the Conservatives, they want us to change things. They may have voted Labour a year ago, and they want the change to come more quickly. I actually do understand that.”
The prime minister added: “It is one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here. I’m up for that.
“It is a completely different thing to say we are going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours. They’re people who work in our economy. They are part of who we are. It will rip this country apart.”
The home secretary, Shabana Mahmood, has suggested the government may look at tougher restrictions on indefinite leave to remain, including contributions that potential applicants make to their communities.
Speaking to the Sun, Mahmood said that she was inspired by her own parents, who came to the UK from Kashmir, and said that gaining the right to stay in the UK should not only be based on finances.
“I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country – long-term settlement, indefinite leave to remain – is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities,” she said.
She said her parents, who settled in Birmingham in the 1970s, didn’t “just come to work – they settled, they made a contribution to the local community, they were volunteers, they got involved in local politics. They did more than simply work and earn a salary.”
The prime minister dodged criticism of his leadership when asked how much trouble he was in, after a poll by More in Common indicated Farage could be on course to enter Downing Street with a majority of 96, and Labour significantly squeezed to just 90 seats in the Commons.
The MRP poll of nearly 20,000 people suggested Starmer’s decision to focus on attacking the Reform UK leader was not cutting through with voters, with 62% indicating Labour should concentrate on its own plans. It also found Labour’s recent scandals, including Angela Rayner’s departure from government followed by Peter Mandelson’s sacking, had more cut-through with the public.
The prime minister dismissed speculation about the possibility of facing a leadership challenge from Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, and criticism of his leadership.
“Comments about leaders and leadership are part and parcel of being in politics. It is the bread and butter of politics,” he said.
Starmer added: “Every leader gets it. It’s in the job description. I don’t focus on that. I focus on what we’ve got to get done.”
When asked whether he could rule out scrapping the legal right for children with special educational needs to get extra help, Starmer said he did not “want to take away rights, but we do need to reform this system”.
During the interview Starmer also defended his plans for a new digital ID system, saying it would make a difference in preventing people working illegally because “this is on point of starting, not a retrospective exercise as it now is”.
He said: “There’s no point people saying to me, ‘Why do we need it?’ when we all acknowledge there is a problem people are working illegally in our economy.”
“It is an automatic collection of the information by the government so we know exactly who is working in our economy, and it will help us enforce the rules that are there,” Starmer added.
