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Long-standing racial prejudice is returning within British politics, which creates very scared, the Prime Minister has stated, alerting how divisive hard-right political tactics are “splitting the UK”.

Addressing Racist Language and Divisive Strategies

In conversation to GP and TV personality a well-known TV doctor, Starmer accused Nigel Farage’s Reform UK of overseeing a return of racist and divisive political discourse which many believed was resolved decades ago”.

In the interview, broadcast on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, the PM also gave a clear indication that the limit on child benefits might be scrapped in the budget in the coming weeks.

Commitment to Reduce Child Poverty

Asked whether he would scrap the limit, which charities have said is a major cause of child poverty in the UK, Starmer responded: “I want to state unequivocally I am determined to lower poverty rates for kids.”

He listed steps ministers have already introduced including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and childcare and emphasized: “We need to do more than that, and I can look you in the eye and tell you I am personally committed to cutting childhood poverty.”

Pressed on whether his remarks indicated he intended to remove the two-child limit, Starmer said he “wouldn’t be telling you we aim to lower child poverty unless I was certain that we will be taking various actions in order to do so”.

Strong Signals from Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves, gave a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told a national radio station how “in the end, a child should not be penalised due to their family’s financial situation”.

Government officials are reportedly planning to lift the limit entirely, having originally looked at ways to taper it either for very large families or wealthier families. The Resolution Foundation projects this would cost roughly £3.5 billion in the coming years.

Ideological Split and National Renewal

In the interview, Starmer said the ideological split currently in Britain was between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus Reform’s harmful divisiveness and other right-wing groups who were “tearing our country apart”.

“Certain language currently circulating – racist rhetoric, polarizing language – that many assumed was resolved in the past is coming back into politics leaving people deeply afraid,” he said.

“We have to stand up such discrimination, that divisiveness, and affirm with pride that British identity involves caring for others, is to be reasonable, entails tolerance and compassionate, and we’re proud of that.”

Reflecting Warnings from Wes Streeting

Starmer echoed sentiments expressed by the Health Secretary, who cautioned recently that a disturbing form of discrimination reminiscent of past decades had become worryingly commonplace once more and that healthcare workers were primary targets of this trend.

The health secretary said incidents of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race had become so frequent that it was now “tolerated to hold racist views”.

“We must end to discrimination across the UK and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that has emerged in our country where it belongs and reestablish a climate across Britain where racism is unacceptable to hold racist views,” the Health Secretary said.

Critical Decision for Voters

Starmer spoke at the Labour party conference this autumn to draw political battle lines between himself and Farage, stating that voters confronted a pivotal moment.

The prime minister said he was engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”, and argued that while voters expressed valid worries about illegal migration, there was “a moral line” which some politicians had crossed.

The PM vowed to challenge those who argued that people who were not white did not belong and that households residing in the UK for generations must be removed, saying people promoting such views were “opposed to the country’s progress”.

“Encouraging racist violence and hostility, 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 ‘go home’, that is not patriotism; that’s racism,” he informed activists.