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Long-standing racial prejudice has come back within UK politics, and it leaves citizens very scared, the Prime Minister warned, cautioning how polarizing hard-right politics are “dividing the nation”.

Tackling Discriminatory Language and Divisive Politics

In conversation with doctor and media figure Amir Khan, Starmer pointed to the Reform UK party for enabling a return to racist and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with long ago”.

In the interview, which aired on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, the PM also gave a clear indication that the limit on child benefits could be removed in the budget later this month.

Promise to Combat Child Poverty

When questioned if he planned to eliminate this restriction, as noted by advocacy groups is a major cause of poverty for children across Britain, Starmer said: “I want to state unequivocally I am determined to drive child poverty down.”

He outlined measures the government has already launched including no-cost school lunches, breakfast clubs, and childcare but added: “Further action is necessary, and I pledge and tell you I will personally focus to driving down child poverty.”

When pressed about if his comments indicated he intended to remove the two-child cap, he stated he “wouldn’t be telling you we plan to reduce poverty among children without being sure that we will be taking various actions to achieve this”.

Clear Indications from the Chancellor

The Chancellor, gave an equally strong hint earlier this week when she told BBC Radio 5 Live how “in the end, a child should not be penalised if their parents are struggling financially”.

Government officials are getting ready to scrap the restriction fully, having originally looked at gradual removal for bigger households or richer ones. The Resolution Foundation projects the expense would be about £3.5bn in the coming years.

Political Divide and National Renewal

In the interview, Starmer said the political divide in the UK now was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus “the toxic division of Reform” and others on the right that are “splitting the UK”.

“Some of the rhetoric we’re hearing – racist rhetoric, divisive rhetoric – that frankly I thought had been addressed in the past has reemerged in political debate and citizens are deeply afraid,” he said.

“We have to stand up such discrimination, that divisiveness, and affirm with pride that British identity is to have concern for others, is to be reasonable, is to be tolerant and kindness, and this is our pride.”

Reflecting Warnings from Wes Streeting

Starmer mirrored sentiments used by the Health Secretary, who warned recently how a disturbing form of discrimination similar to the 1970s and 1980s had become alarmingly frequent again with NHS staff were facing the worst of this trend.

Streeting noted occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks based on people’s skin colour had become so frequent that it had become “socially acceptable to be racist”.

“We must end on racism across the UK and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that has emerged nationally back in its box and reestablish an environment in this country where racism is unacceptable to be racist,” the Health Secretary said.

Defining Choice for Voters

The Prime Minister spoke during a major political gathering this autumn to outline clear divisions between himself and Farage, saying that voters confronted a “defining choice”.

The prime minister said he was engaged in a struggle for the nation’s identity, and argued although voters expressed valid worries regarding unauthorized immigration, there was “a moral line” that Farage and others had crossed.

Starmer pledged to “fight” those claiming that non-white individuals were not truly British and that families who had lived in Britain for years should be deported, stating people promoting such views were “against national unity”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hostility, that is not expressing concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, yet if they are painted with hateful messages, targeting a business owner to leave the country, that is not patriotism; that is pure discrimination,” he informed activists.