Keir Starmer hits back at Nigel Farage’s scaremongering
Keir Starmer has slammed the “scaremongering” tactics of Reform UK and the Tories and said he is rolling up his sleeves to make a genuine difference to British families’ lives.
As Parliament returns from summer recess today, the Prime Minister said Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch ‘s parties “talk down the country at every turn” as he promised he was focused on real change.
In his first comments since Mr Farage unveiled draconian plans for mass deportations, he told The Mirror: “While Reform and the Tories talk down the country at every turn, we’re doing the work to make people’s lives better. I’m not interested in scaremongering from the sidelines. I’m rolling up my sleeves to deliver change that makes a difference to you and your family.”
It comes as Mr Farage was this weekend accused of skipping the return of Parliament this week to badmouth Britain in the US and help Donald Trump’s White House meddle in our politics.
The Prime Minister will be looking to reset the narrative after Mr Farage dominated headlines over the summer recess with his controversial immigration plans and “Lawless Britain” campaign. The Reform UK leader faced accusations of stoking tensions and fanning the flames of hate over the summer break as he staged a number of events linking migration to crime.
But Mr Starmer is starting the new parliamentary term with an upbeat message to the nation as he battles to steer away from a gloomy summer mired by protests and a testing court battle over asylum hotels.
Writing for The Mirror, Mr Starmer hailed the Labour government’s policies to improve young people’s futures. He said he wants “every parent to know that there is a bright future ahead for their children” as he pointed to the Government’s major expansion of free childcare that comes into force today.
Kickstarting Labour’s Best Start In Life campaign, Mr Starmer also listed the Government’s announcements to expand free school meals, cut uniform costs for parents and for an £88million investment in extracurricular activities.
“We’re putting more money in Mirror readers’ pockets, giving parents some much needed time back, and setting children up to do their best in the classroom and beyond,” he said.