LABOUR OF LOVE

KEIR Starmer launched a blistering attack on Nigel Farage by questioning his love of the UK.

- PAUL HUTCHEON IN LIVERPOOL

In a make-or-break conference speech yesterday, the Prime Minister also claimed Farage’s party and the SNP want the UK to fail. Starmer's address to delegates in Liverpool came after a difficult first 15 months in office.

His personal poll rating has collapsed and Reform UK have soared in the polls. If a general election was held tomorrow, the polls indicate Farage would become prime minister.

Starmer used his speech to back patriotism and renewal while going on the attack against Farage.

He said: “The question I ask seriously of Nigel Farage and Reform is: do they love our country? Do they want to serve our country, all of it? Our beautiful, tolerant, diverse country? Every region, nation and city? Or do they just want to stir the pot of division because that's worked in their interests? Do they truly believe in our potential, in our brilliance, in all the innovative wonders of our economy from clean energy to creative arts?

“Or if a business looks a little too modern, do they say, as Farage said about Jaguar Land Rover, they deserve to go bust?”

He widened his attack to include the SNP: “When push comes to shove, do they really want to fix our problems and renew Britain? Or as we've seen time and again, whether it's the SNP, the extremes of the left or Reform and the Tories now, do they actually want Britain to fail? I think we know the answer to that question.”

He also said Labour will fight elections as “patriots of our great nations” with an argument of “bringing our country together as a whole”.