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Long-standing racism is returning to UK the political arena, which leaves citizens deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer has stated, cautioning that polarizing far-right politics was “splitting the UK”.

Confronting Racist Rhetoric and Divisive Strategies

In conversation with GP and TV personality Amir Khan, Starmer pointed to the Reform UK party for enabling the revival to racist and divisive politics which many believed was resolved decades ago”.

In the interview, broadcast on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, Starmer also gave his strongest signal that the limit on child benefits would be lifted in the budget later this month.

Promise to Reduce Child Poverty

Asked if he planned to eliminate this restriction, as noted by advocacy groups is the biggest driver of poverty for children across Britain, the Prime Minister responded: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am committed to reduce child poverty.”

He listed measures ministers have already introduced including free school meals, morning meal programs, and childcare but added: “We must go beyond these efforts, and I pledge that I will personally focus to driving down child poverty.”

When pressed on whether his remarks indicated he intended to remove the two-child cap, Starmer said he “wouldn’t be telling you we are going to drive down child poverty if I wasn’t clear that measures will be introduced several steps to achieve this”.

Strong Indications from Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves, gave a similarly clear signal earlier this week stating to BBC Radio 5 Live that ultimately, children must not be punished because their parents don’t have very much money”.

Ministers are reportedly planning to remove the cap completely, having originally looked at ways to taper it either for very large families or wealthier families. The Resolution Foundation has estimated the expense would be about £3.5bn by the end of the decade.

Political Divide and National Renewal

In the interview, the Prime Minister said the political divide currently in Britain was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” and Reform’s harmful divisiveness and other right-wing groups that are “tearing our country apart”.

“Parts of the discourse being used – discriminatory talk, polarizing language – which I believed we had dealt with long ago is returning to politics leaving people fearful,” he said.

“We must confront to that racism, that divisiveness, and declare confidently that British identity involves caring for others, is about being fair, is to be tolerant and compassionate, and this is our pride.”

Echoing Warnings from the Health Secretary

The prime minister mirrored language used by the Health Secretary, who cautioned earlier this month how an “ugly” racism similar to past decades was now worryingly commonplace once more and that healthcare workers were primary targets of this trend.

The health secretary noted occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks based on people’s skin colour now happened so often making it “acceptable to express racism”.

“We must end on racism in this country and we need to place that ugly racist sentiment that has emerged nationally back in its box and once again create a climate in this country where racism is unacceptable to hold racist views,” the Health Secretary said.

Defining Choice for Voters

The Prime Minister used his speech at the Labour party conference in September to draw clear divisions with his political opponents, stating that the public confronted a crucial decision.

The prime minister explained he was involved in a struggle for the nation’s identity, noting although voters expressed valid worries about illegal migration, there was “a moral line” which some politicians had overstepped.

Starmer vowed to challenge anyone claiming that people who were not white did not belong and that families residing in the UK for generations should be deported, saying those advocating these ideas were “opposed to the country’s progress”.

“If you incite racist violence and hostility, that goes beyond concern: it is illegal. Our political movement values national symbols, yet if they are painted with hateful messages, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that’s racism,” he informed activists.