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Long-standing racism is returning within British the political arena, which makes people feel deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer has stated, cautioning how divisive far-right politics was “tearing our country apart”.

Confronting Discriminatory Rhetoric and Harmful Politics

Speaking with GP and TV personality Amir Khan, Starmer accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing the revival to racist and divisive politics that seemed a thing of the past years back”.

During the discussion, which aired on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, the PM also gave his strongest signal suggesting the limit on child benefits could be removed in the budget in the coming weeks.

Promise to Combat Poverty Among Children

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 want to state unequivocally I will strive to drive child poverty down.”

He outlined measures ministers have already introduced including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and child care support but added: “Further action is necessary, and I assure you that I am personally committed to cutting child poverty.”

Pressed on whether his comments meant he intended to remove the two-child limit, Starmer stated “I would not say we are going to drive down poverty among children without being sure that measures will be introduced several steps in order to do so”.

Strong Signals from the Chancellor

The Chancellor, gave an equally strong hint on Monday when she told BBC Radio 5 Live that finally, no child should suffer if their parents are struggling financially”.

Government officials are getting ready to lift the limit entirely, after initially considering phasing it out for bigger households or richer ones. The Resolution Foundation has estimated this would cost about £3.5bn in the coming years.

Political Divide and Country’s Revival

During the discussion, the Prime Minister explained the ideological split currently in Britain was between the government’s vision for renewal and “the toxic division of Reform” and other right-wing groups who were “splitting the UK”.

“Parts of the discourse being used – discriminatory talk, polarizing language – that many assumed was resolved in the past is returning to politics and it makes people feel very scared,” he said.

“We must confront such discrimination, that division, and declare confidently that British identity is to have concern for others, is to be reasonable, entails tolerance and compassionate, which we value deeply.”

Echoing Concerns from Wes Streeting

The prime minister mirrored sentiments used by Wes Streeting, who cautioned recently that an “ugly” racism similar to the 1970s and 1980s was now worryingly commonplace once more with healthcare workers were primary targets of this trend.

The health secretary said incidents of verbal and physical abuse based on people’s skin colour now happened so often that it was now “socially acceptable to be racist”.

“It is time to put a stop to discrimination across the UK and we need to place such harmful attitudes that has emerged nationally where it belongs and once again create an environment across Britain that rejects racism to be racist,” the Health Secretary stated.

Critical Decision for Voters

Starmer used his speech at the Labour party conference in September to draw clear divisions with his political opponents, saying that voters confronted a pivotal moment.

He explained he was involved in a struggle for the nation’s identity, and argued that while the public expressed valid worries regarding unauthorized immigration, existed an ethical boundary that Farage and others had overstepped.

Starmer pledged to “fight” those who argued that people who were not white could not be English or British and that households who had lived in the UK for generations should be deported, stating people promoting such views were “an enemy of national renewal”.

“If you incite racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – values national symbols, but if they are displayed alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that’s racism,” he informed supporters.