Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accused Reform UK of pushing policies that would tear this country apart as he arrived in Liverpool for the Labour Party conference on Saturday.
Starmer sharply criticised Reform’s proposal to abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR) for legal migrants and replace it with renewable five-year visas.
He described the plan as one of the most shocking things, Nigel Farage’s party has put forward, warning it would affect hundreds of thousands of people already living and working in the UK.
“These are people who contribute to our society every day in hospitals, schools, and businesses,” the PM told the media, “Reform’s plan is divisive and dangerous.”
With polls showing Labour slipping behind Reform UK, Starmer said the conference would be a chance to present Labour’s alternative vision of patriotic national renewal against what he called Reform’s toxic divide and decline. Farage dismissed Starmer’s remarks as total desperation.
During the visit, he also confirmed his government would not legalise cannabis and defended his plan to lower the voting age to 16, noting it already works in Scotland and Wales.
The Labour conference is also expected to see heated debates on scrapping the two-child benefit cap and scrutiny of Starmer’s controversial digital ID plans. Senior figures will unveil details of new housing New Towns as part of Labour’s domestic agenda.
