Keir Starmer says Iran conflict 'not our war' as he hits out at Reform's Nigel Farage
Sir Keir Starmer has once again said Britain will not be pulled into the US and Israel's war in the Middle East as he hit out at Nigel Farage over his response to the conflict.
Listen to this article
The UK would “be in a war with no plan” if the Conservative or Reform UK leaders were in charge, the PM claimed as he launched Labour's local election campaign.
Referring to the conflict in the Middle East, the Prime Minister said: “This is not our war and we are not going to be dragged into it.
“Yes, of course, we will defend British lives and British interests in the region, will stand by our allies in the Gulf region, but we’re not going to get dragged in.”
Sir Keir later added: “What a contrast if you took Kemi Badenoch or Nigel Farage. What did they want to do?
“They wanted to go straight in with both feet into the war without thinking through the consequences.
“Now, they’re in opposition, maybe that doesn’t matter very much, but it’s terrible judgment, because taking your country to war is the single most important decision a prime minister can ever take, and if they had been in Government, we’d be in a war with no plan.”
The PM went on to slam the Green Party and its leader Zack Polanski as he said Britain would be “weak and exposed” if he, Nigel Farage or Kemi Badenoch were in Government.
The Prime Minister said: “Then you’ve got Polanski. He thinks that with a war on two fronts, now is the time to give up our Nato membership, now is the time to start negotiating with Putin over our nuclear deterrent.
“We’d be left so weak and so exposed if any of those individuals were in government, and it’s really important therefore that we stick to our principles, stick to our values and show the leadership that’s needed in a time like this.”
Sir Keir added: “Some will use, sadly, the conflict in Iran to whip up even more division in our country and our society.
“If you can believe it, they barely need a reason. We saw Nick Timothy at it last week complaining about Muslims praying in public.
“We see so many examples, but people will use this to try and tear the country further apart.
“It’s really important that we assert our Labour values here, as we go into campaign, our Labour values about how we bring people together, how we understand the importance of place and the pride that people put in the place that they come from.”
It comes ahead of a meeting between Sir Keir and fuel bosses over growing concerns about energy costs and oil supplies.
Many essentials are increasing in price including council tax, and water bills.
The Middle East conflict is also pushing up mortgage rates, fuel prices and energy bills and is likely to soon begin impacting the cost of food.
One of the immediate cost impacts of the war in Britain has been the rising cost of fuel at the pumps, with petrol jumping above 150p a litre last week for the first time in almost two years.
The Isle of Man ran out of diesel yesterday - with deliveries due to arrive tomorrow. Diesel rationing was put in place at multiple petrol stations across the island.
Drivers across the self-governing Crown Dependency reported that all garages have run out of diesel.
One fuel station operator said they believed there was no diesel left anywhere on the island as of this morning.
Petrol prices have gone up by around 17p a litre since the start of the war and diesel prices have gone up by more than 34p.
Most households in England and Wales will see an increase of about 5% on their council tax bills, while in Scotland rates will go up anywhere between 4% to 10%.