Supporting Reform's 'racist' policy does not make voters racist, Rachel Reeves insists
Sir Keir Starmer branded Reform UK’s plan to abolish indefinite leave to remain as 'racist'
Rachel Reeves has told LBC that Reform UK's plan to deport thousands of legal immigrants was racist but voters who back the party are not racist.
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Sir Keir Starmer condemned Reform UK’s plan to abolish indefinite leave to remain (ILR), branding the proposal "racist" and "immoral".
When asked by LBC if people who supported the "racist" policy are racist, Ms Reeves said: "People support the Reform Party for all sorts of different reasons, often not knowing the details of policy - but this policy is a racist policy."
"This is a racist policy. It's a bad. And it's bad for our country and we need to call that out," she added.
"People who might be at work today, sitting next to somebody who wasn't born in this country.
"The next door neighbour might not have been born in this country. They might be married to somebody who wasn't born in this country.
"And what Nigel Farage and the Reform Party are saying is that they would deport those people."
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage unveiled the proposal last week, saying ILR should be replaced by a tougher visa system.
Under current rules, migrants can apply for ILR after five years, gaining the right to live, study and work in the UK permanently.
Labour, meanwhile, has proposed extending the qualifying period to 10 years, with a consultation launched in May.
The prime minister said the policy would “rip this country apart.”
Sir Keir said: “It’s one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here, I’m up for that.
"It’s a completely different thing to say we’re going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them.
"They are our neighbours, they’re people who work in our economy, they’re part of who we are.”
Asked whether he believed Reform was appealing to racist voters, Sir Keir said: “No. I think there are plenty of people who either vote Reform or are thinking of voting Reform who are frustrated.
"They had 14 years of failure under the Conservatives, they want us to change things … I actually totally do understand that.”
Reform UK hit back, with spokesperson Zia Yusuf saying: “Labour’s message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever, or Labour will call you racist. Reform’s plan will ensure only British people can access welfare and that migrants contribute to society.”
A YouGov poll released on Saturday suggested the issue splits opinion. While 58% of Britons oppose stripping ILR from those who already hold it, 44% back ending ILR as a policy, compared to 43% who oppose.
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak told LBC: "I welcome the fact the Prime Minister came out yesterday and described Reform's approach to indefinite leave to remain as racist, because it is. And what Reform is saying is it doesn't matter how long you've lived in the UK, whether or not you've worked, what way you came, whether you've raised your family here, how much you've contributed. Anybody could be rounded up and sent home.
"We're old enough to remember the 1970s, the National Front 'send them home' (campaign). And that's what Reform's policy feels like now. For me, Labour have got absolutely no currency to gain by trying to out-Farage Farage. And I think we need a more grown-up debate about migration to this country, whether that's people in small boats or just migration more broadly. Because in a growing economy with an ageing population, we're probably going to need people to live and work in the UK.
"That's why I welcome today Rachel Reeves talking about a scheme to increase youth mobility for young people in the UK and in Europe, because we want our young people to have opportunities to travel and to work and to study in different places. So a more grown-up conversation and one that isn't about driving wedges between different groups".