PM mocked for 'learning' from Reform on migration

Sir Keir Starmer has been mocked by Nigel Farage for learning a great deal” from Reform UK on immigration, as the PM faces a growing backlash from his MPs over the government’s rhetoric.

- MILLIE COOKE DAVID MADDOX

The comment came after the prime minister’s claim that, because of migration, the UK risks becoming an “island of strangers”. Sir Keir’s statement was compared to the inflammatory language used by Enoch Powell in his infamous “rivers of blood” speech.

The 1968 speech whipped up a frenzy of anti-immigration hatred across the UK after it imagined a future where the white population in Britain “found themselves made strangers in their own country”.

The Reform UK leader, who urged Sir Keir to “go further” on his sweeping migration reforms, taunted the prime minister: “We at Reform – a party that is alive and kicking – very much enjoyed your speech on Monday. You seem to be learning a great deal from us.”

But speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Plaid Cymru MP Liz Saville-Roberts questioned Sir Keir’s change in stance, pointing out that he used to speak of “compassion and dignity” for migrants. “Is there any belief he holds that survives more than a week in Downing Street?”, the MP for Dwyfor Meirionnydd asked.