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Long-standing racism is resurfacing to UK the political arena, which makes people feel fearful, the Prime Minister has stated, cautioning that divisive far-right politics was “dividing the nation”.

Tackling Discriminatory Rhetoric and Divisive Strategies

Speaking to doctor and media figure Amir Khan, Starmer accused the Reform UK party for enabling a return to discriminatory and divisive politics that seemed a thing of the past long ago”.

In the interview, broadcast on a popular morning program on Tuesday, the PM also gave a clear indication that the limit on child benefits would be lifted in the budget in the coming weeks.

Commitment to Combat Child Poverty

Asked whether he would scrap the limit, as noted by advocacy groups is a major cause of child poverty across Britain, the Prime Minister said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to reduce child poverty.”

He listed measures ministers have already introduced including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and child care support and emphasized: “Further action is necessary, and I can look you in the eye that I will personally focus to driving down child poverty.”

Pressed about if his remarks meant he intended to remove the two-child limit, Starmer said “I would not say we plan to reduce poverty among children if I wasn’t clear that we will implement a number of measures to achieve this”.

Clear Signals from the Chancellor

Rachel Reeves, provided a similarly clear signal earlier this week stating to a national radio station that ultimately, a child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money”.

Government officials are understood to be preparing to remove the cap completely, after initially considering ways to taper it for bigger households or richer ones. An economic thinktank projects this would cost about £3.5bn by 2029-30.

Political Divide and National Renewal

During the discussion, Starmer explained the ideological split currently in Britain was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus “the toxic division of Reform” and other right-wing groups who were “splitting the UK”.

“Some of the rhetoric currently circulating – discriminatory talk, polarizing language – that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago is coming back into politics and it makes people feel very scared,” he said.

“It is essential to oppose such discrimination, that divisiveness, and declare confidently that to be British involves caring for others, is to be reasonable, is to be tolerant and compassionate, and this is our pride.”

Echoing Warnings from the Health Secretary

Starmer echoed language expressed by the Health Secretary, who warned earlier this month that an “ugly” racism reminiscent of the 1970s and 1980s had become alarmingly frequent once more and that NHS staff were primary targets of this trend.

The health secretary said occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race now happened so often that it had become “acceptable to express racism”.

“We must end to discrimination across the UK and we need to place such harmful attitudes that has emerged in our country where it belongs and once again create a climate in this country where it is not socially acceptable to be racist,” the Health Secretary stated.

Critical Decision for Voters

Starmer spoke at the Labour party conference this autumn to draw clear divisions with his political opponents, saying that voters faced a pivotal moment.

The prime minister said he was involved in a struggle for the nation’s identity, noting that while the public had “reasonable” concerns about illegal migration, there was an ethical boundary which some politicians had crossed.

Starmer vowed to “fight” those claiming that people who were not white did not belong and that families who had lived in Britain for years must be removed, saying people promoting such views were “opposed to the country’s progress”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hostility, that is not expressing concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – values national symbols, yet if they are painted alongside graffiti, targeting a business owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that is pure discrimination,” he told activists.