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Decades-old racial prejudice is returning to British the political arena, which makes people feel fearful, Keir Starmer warned, alerting how divisive far-right politics are “tearing our country apart”.

Confronting Racist Language and Harmful Strategies

Speaking to GP and TV personality Amir Khan, Starmer accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK for enabling the revival to discriminatory and divisive political discourse “that frankly I thought we had dealt with years back”.

In the interview, broadcast on a popular morning program this week, Starmer also gave a clear indication suggesting the two-child benefit cap could be removed in the budget in the coming weeks.

Promise to Reduce Child Poverty

When questioned if he planned to eliminate this restriction, which charities have said is the biggest driver of child poverty in the UK, the Prime Minister responded: “I want to state unequivocally I will strive to lower poverty rates for kids.”

He listed steps the government has already launched such as free school meals, breakfast clubs, and childcare and emphasized: “Further action is necessary, and I pledge that I am dedicated on reducing child poverty.”

Pressed about if his comments indicated he would lift the two-child cap, Starmer said he “wouldn’t be telling you we are going to drive down poverty among children unless I was certain that measures will be introduced several steps for that purpose”.

Strong Indications from Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves, provided a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told BBC Radio 5 Live how finally, a child should not be penalised because their parents don’t have very much money”.

Ministers are reportedly planning to scrap the restriction fully, after initially considering phasing it out either for very large families or wealthier families. The Resolution Foundation projects the expense would be roughly £3.5 billion by 2029-30.

Political Divide and Country’s Revival

During the discussion, Starmer explained the ideological split currently in Britain was between the government’s vision for renewal versus “the toxic division of Reform” and others on the right who were “splitting the UK”.

“Parts of the discourse we’re hearing – racist rhetoric, divisive rhetoric – that frankly I thought we had dealt with decades ago has reemerged in political debate and it makes people feel fearful,” he stated.

“We have to stand up such discrimination, that divisiveness, and we have to proudly say that British identity means showing empathy, is about being fair, entails tolerance and kindness, and this is our pride.”

Echoing Warnings from Wes Streeting

The prime minister mirrored sentiments expressed by the Health Secretary, who warned earlier this month that an “ugly” racism reminiscent of past decades had become worryingly commonplace again and that healthcare workers were primary targets of it.

The health secretary said occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race now happened so often making it “socially acceptable to be racist”.

“We’ve got to call time on racism in this country and we need to place that ugly racist sentiment that’s found expression nationally back in its box and reestablish a climate in this country that rejects racism to hold racist views,” Streeting stated.

Critical Decision for the Public

The Prime Minister used his speech during a major political gathering in September to draw clear divisions between himself and Farage, saying that the public confronted a crucial decision.

He said he was engaged in a struggle for the nation’s identity, noting that while voters expressed valid worries about illegal migration, there was an ethical boundary which some politicians had crossed.

Starmer vowed to “fight” anyone claiming that non-white individuals did not belong and that households residing in the UK for generations must be removed, stating those advocating these ideas were “opposed to the country’s progress”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hostility, that goes beyond concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – values national symbols, but if they are displayed with hateful messages, targeting a business owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that is pure discrimination,” he told supporters.