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Decades-old racial prejudice is returning within UK politics, which makes people feel deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer warned, alerting that divisive far-right political tactics are “dividing the nation”.

Confronting Discriminatory Rhetoric and Divisive Politics

Speaking with GP and TV personality Amir Khan, Starmer pointed to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK for enabling the revival to racist and divisive politics which many believed was resolved decades ago”.

During the discussion, broadcast on a popular morning program on Tuesday, Starmer also gave his strongest signal suggesting the two-child benefit cap might be scrapped in the budget later this month.

Commitment to Combat Child Poverty

When questioned whether he planned to eliminate this restriction, which charities have said is a major cause of child poverty in the UK, Starmer responded: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I will strive to drive child poverty down.”

He listed steps ministers have already introduced such as no-cost school lunches, morning meal programs, and childcare and emphasized: “We need to do more than that, and I assure you that I am dedicated to driving down child poverty.”

Pressed on whether his comments meant he intended to remove the two-child limit, he said he “wouldn’t be telling you we are going to drive down poverty among children if I wasn’t clear that we will be taking various actions to achieve this”.

Clear Signals from the Chancellor

The Chancellor, gave a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told a national radio station that finally, no child should suffer due to their family’s financial situation”.

Ministers are getting ready to remove the cap completely, after initially considering phasing it out either for very large families or richer ones. The Resolution Foundation projects this would cost roughly £3.5 billion by the end of the decade.

Political Divide and National Renewal

During the discussion, Starmer said the political divide in the UK now was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus Reform’s harmful divisiveness and other right-wing groups who were “tearing our country apart”.

“Certain language being used – discriminatory talk, polarizing language – that many assumed we had dealt with in the past is returning to politics and citizens are fearful,” he said.

“It is essential to oppose such discrimination, 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.”

Reflecting Warnings from Wes Streeting

The prime minister echoed language expressed by the Health Secretary, who warned recently how a disturbing form of discrimination similar to the 1970s and 1980s was now worryingly commonplace again and that NHS staff were primary targets of this trend.

Streeting said incidents of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race had become so frequent that it had become “tolerated to hold racist views”.

“It is time to put a stop on racism in this country and we need to place such harmful attitudes that’s found expression in our country where it belongs and reestablish a climate across Britain where racism is unacceptable to hold racist views,” Streeting said.

Defining Choice for the Public

The Prime Minister used his speech at the Labour party conference this autumn to outline clear divisions between himself and Farage, stating that voters confronted a crucial decision.

He explained he was engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”, noting that while voters expressed valid worries regarding unauthorized immigration, existed an ethical boundary which some politicians had crossed.

The PM vowed to challenge those claiming that people who were not white could not be English or British and that households residing in the UK for generations should be deported, stating people promoting such views constituted “an enemy of national renewal”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hatred, that goes beyond concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, but if they are displayed alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that is pure discrimination,” he told supporters.