Starmer urges unity as he attacks Reform UK's immigration plan

Prime Minister Keir Starmer used his keynote speech at Labour’s conference in Liverpool on Tuesday to urge party unity and to sharply criticize Reform UK’s immigration proposals, calling their plan to scrap indefinite leave to remain racist and immoral. The speech, delivered amid polling that shows Reform rising and growing questions about Labour’s standing, also set out a series of policy pledges including a new online NHS hospital and a change to the party’s higher education target.

Starmer told delegates Labour faced “a fight for the soul of our country” and framed the choice ahead as one between what he described as decency and division. He warned that proposals to remove the right to remain permanently from people who have lived and worked in the UK for years would, in his view, “rip this country apart,” and said he understood why some voters were frustrated even if he did not see them as racist. He also signalled tougher action on illegal migration, backing faster asylum decisions and a digital ID system to prevent illegal working.

The Reform leader Nigel Farage, responding on camera after the speech, said Labour’s rhetoric risked encouraging violence against Reform...