Nigel Farage is 'introducing poison' to British politics, Sir Keir Starmer says, as he brands Reform 'Liz Truss 2.0'

29 May 2025, 13:22 | Updated: 29 May 2025, 13:24

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Nigel Farage of “introducing poison” to British politics as he hit out at Reform UK’s economic policy, branding it “Liz Truss 2.0.”

Speaking to LBC’s Aggie Chambre, the Prime Minister accused Reform UK of creating a “toxic divide” after it launched a campaign video suggesting Labour’s candidate in the Hamilton by-election would prioritise Pakistani residents over those born in Britain.

Voters go to the polls on June 5 in the Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Holyrood constituency – a by-election called following the death of SNP MSP Christina McKelvie.

A row has arisen after a Reform UK advert suggested Labour’s Anas Sarwar would “prioritise” the Pakistani community.

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The ad – which the SNP and Labour have demanded be removed by Meta – shows clips of Mr Sarwar calling for more representation of Scots with south Asian heritage, although he did not say he would prioritise any one group.

Labour has described the ad as blatantly racist”.

Speaking on Thursday, Sir Keir told LBC: “Nigel Farage is trying to divide people with a toxic divide and to poison our politics.

“I think our politics is above that. And that's why I think it's absolutely right that Anas Sarwar has called this out for what it is. It is time.

“It is introducing poison into our politics and that is exactly what turns people off politics.

“That is why restoring trust in politics is so important to my project and the project of Scottish Labour.”

Sir Keir’s comments come after Mr Sarwar said: “This is a blatant attempt from Nigel Farage to try and poison our politics here in Scotland.”

Labour’s attack on Reform UK comes after Nigel Farage hit out at the Prime Minister as being “hopelessly out of touch.”

In his "pitch to working people" speech, the Reform leader dubbed the Prime Minister the “most unpatriotic” in history after signing deals with the EU and handing over the Chagos islands to Mauritius.

Standing alongside a string of newly elected mayors and councillors, Mr Farage declared his party was the "official opposition” following their successful local election campaign at the start of May.

During the same event, he pledged to scrap the two-child benefit cap in a bid to woo Labour voters.

Speaking on Thursday, Sir Keir said Mr Farage’s plans to spend “billions upon billions upon billions, tens of billions of pounds, in an unfunded way” was an “exact repeat of what Liz Truss did”.

Speaking during a visit to a glass factory in the North West, the Prime Minister said the Clacton MP would not have protected jobs in industries subject to tariffs from the US.

“Can you trust him? Can you trust him with your future? Can you trust him with your jobs? Can you trust him with your mortgages, your pensions, your bills? And he gave the answer on Tuesday. A resounding no,” he said.

Mr Farage had pitched Reform UK as the “the party of working people” rather than Labour, and accused Sir Keir of having no connection to the working class.

Sir Keir rejected this, saying: “I know what it means to work 10 hours a day in a factory five days a week, and I know that because that is what my dad did every single working day of his life, and that’s what I grew up with.

“So I don’t need lessons from Nigel Farage about the issues that matter most to working people in this country.”