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Long-standing racial prejudice has come back within UK politics, which creates deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer has stated, cautioning that divisive far-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.

Confronting Racist Rhetoric and Divisive Politics

Speaking to GP and TV personality a well-known TV doctor, the prime minister accused the Reform UK party for enabling a return to discriminatory and divisive politics “that frankly I thought we had dealt with long ago”.

During the discussion, broadcast on a popular morning program this week, the PM also gave a clear indication that the limit on child benefits would be lifted during the upcoming fiscal announcement in the coming weeks.

Promise to Combat Child Poverty

Asked if he would scrap the limit, which charities have said is the biggest driver of child poverty in the UK, the Prime Minister said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am committed to reduce child poverty.”

He listed measures ministers have already introduced such as no-cost school lunches, morning meal programs, and child care support and emphasized: “Further action is necessary, and I pledge and tell you I am personally committed to cutting child poverty.”

When pressed about if his remarks indicated he would lift the two-child cap, Starmer said he “wouldn’t be telling you we aim to lower child poverty unless I was certain that we will implement various actions in order to do so”.

Strong Signals from the Chancellor

The Chancellor, provided an equally strong hint earlier this week stating to BBC Radio 5 Live how ultimately, children must not be punished due to their family’s financial situation”.

Ministers are getting ready to lift the limit entirely, having originally looked at phasing it out either for very large families or wealthier families. An economic thinktank has estimated the expense would be about £3.5bn in the coming years.

Ideological Split and Country’s Revival

In the interview, the Prime Minister explained the ideological split currently in Britain existed between the government’s vision for renewal and Reform’s harmful divisiveness and other right-wing groups that are “dividing the nation”.

“Parts of the discourse currently circulating – racist rhetoric, divisive rhetoric – that many assumed was resolved decades ago is coming back into politics and it makes people feel fearful,” he stated.

“We have to stand up such discrimination, that division, and declare confidently that to be British involves caring for others, is about being fair, is to be tolerant and compassionate, and this is our pride.”

Echoing Concerns from Wes Streeting

The prime minister echoed sentiments expressed by the Health Secretary, who warned earlier this month how an “ugly” racism similar to the 1970s and 1980s had become worryingly commonplace again and that healthcare workers were facing the worst of this trend.

The health secretary noted incidents of both verbal and physical attacks based on people’s skin colour now happened so often making it “socially acceptable to be racist”.

“It is time to put a stop on racism in this country and we need to place that ugly racist sentiment that’s found expression in our country where it belongs and reestablish a climate in this country that rejects racism to hold racist views,” the Health Secretary said.

Defining Choice for the Public

Starmer spoke during a major political gathering this autumn to outline political battle lines between himself and Farage, saying that voters faced a pivotal moment.

He explained he was engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”, noting although voters had “reasonable” concerns about illegal migration, there was an ethical boundary that Farage and others had crossed.

Starmer pledged to challenge those claiming that non-white individuals could not be English or British and that families residing in the UK for generations should be deported, stating those advocating these ideas were “against national unity”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hostility, that is not expressing concern: it is illegal. This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, yet if they are painted alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that is pure discrimination,” he told activists.