PM attacks 'toxic' Reform ahead of Labour conference

Sir Keir Starmer claimed Reform UK wanted to “tear our country apart” ahead of a Labour conference set to be dominated by questions over how to respond to Nigel Farage’s party.

- DAVID MADDOX DAVID HUGHES

The prime minister is under pressure with Labour trailing behind Reform in opinion polls and some within the party uneasy about Labour's direction under his leadership.

As he arrived in Liverpool for the conference, Sir Keir said it would be an opportunity to show Labour's alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by Reform.

Sir Keir said Reform's plan to remove indefinite leave to remain for legal migrants was “one of the most shocking things” Mr Farage's party had come up with.

During a visit to the Liverpool Echo's office, he said: “I think it is a real sign of just how divisive they are and that their policies will tear this country apart.”

Later, arriving at the conference centre in Liverpool with his wife Lady Victoria, he said the gathering, which officially starts today, was a “really big opportunity to make our case to the country, [and] make it absolutely clear that patriotic national renewal is the way forward, not the toxic divide and decline that we get with Reform”. on track to win the most parliamentary seats if an election were held, according to YouGov.

In a message aimed at rallying a divided Labour against Reform, Sir Keir told the