The Prime Minister accused Mr Farage of ‘not liking Britain and not believing in it’, drawing sharp battle lines with Reform as he closed the party’s annual gathering in Liverpool
Keir Starmer has labelled Nigel Farage as the ‘enemy of renewal’ and pledged to ‘never surrender’ the Union flag to Reform UK in a passionate Labour conference speech. The Prime Minister accused Mr Farage of ‘not liking Britain and not believing in it’, setting clear battle lines with Reform as he concluded the party’s annual gathering in Liverpool.
Delegates were given Welsh, English, Scottish and Union flags to wave, with Starmer asserting they ‘belong to all of us’. Identifying himself as a patriot, he portrayed Britain as a ‘tolerant, pragmatic, reasonable country’ and vowed to reclaim national symbols from those who ‘seek to divide’.
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He informed members: “Free speech is a British value and we have guarded it for centuries, but if you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern – that’s criminal.” Starmer cautioned against those utilising the flag as a backdrop for racism, adding: ‘”This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, yet if they are painted alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to ‘go home’, that’s not pride – that’s racism.
“And, conference, if you say or imply that people cannot be English or British because of the colour of their skin, that mixed-heritage families owe you an explanation, that people who have lived here for generations, raised their children here, built lives here – working in our schools, our hospitals, running businesses – our neighbours, if you say they should now be deported, then mark my words, we will fight you with everything we have because you are an enemy of national renewal.”
Throughout the address, supporters enthusiastically waved flags, with the PM repeatedly encouraging those packed into the conference hall to do likewise. He declared “Let’s fly all our flags conference. Because they are flags. They belong to all of us, and we will never surrender them.”
The Labour chief also slammed Mr Farage for providing no constructive proposals, questioning: ‘When was the last time you heard Nigel Farage say anything positive about Britain’s future? He can’t. He doesn’t like Britain, doesn’t believe in Britain, wants you to doubt it as much as he does.”
He branded Reform as peddling grievance-based politics, asserting: “Decline is good for their business. They want to turn this proud, self-reliant country into a competition of victims.”
Starmer also condemned the violent incidents during the Southport riots, stating: ‘”There are also people who should know better, sowing fear and discord across our country, and then, when we call that out, they pretend we’re criticising reasonable concerns about immigration. Controlling migration is a reasonable goal, but if you throw bricks and smash up private property, that’s not legitimate – that is thuggery.”
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