Sir Keir Starmer claimed Reform UK wanted to “tear our country apart” ahead of a Labour conference set to be dominated by questions over how to respond to Nigel Farage’s party.
The prime minister is under pressure with Labour trailing behind Reform in opinion polls and some within the party uneasy about Labour’s direction under his leadership.
As he arrived in Liverpool for the conference, Sir Keir said it would be an opportunity to show Labour’s alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by Reform.
Sir Keir said Reform’s plans to remove indefinite leave to remain for legal migrants as “one of the most shocking things” Mr Farage’s party had come out with.
During a visit to the Liverpool Echo’s office, he said: “I think it is a real sign of just how divisive they are and that their politics and their policies will tear this country apart.”
Later, arriving at the conference centre in Liverpool with his wife Lady Victoria, he said the gathering, which officially starts on Sunday, was a “really big opportunity to make our case to the country, make it absolutely clear that patriotic national renewal is the way forward, not the toxic divide and decline that we get with Reform”.
The latest polling has placed Mr Farage as the most likely politician to be the next prime minister, with Reform currently on track to win the most parliamentary seats if an election were held, according to YouGov.
In a message aimed at rallying a divided Labour against Reform, Sir Keir told the Guardian: “History will not forgive us if we do not use every ounce of our energy to fight Reform. There is an enemy. There is a project which is detrimental to our country.
“It actually goes against the grain of our history. It’s right there in plain sight in front of us. We have to win this battle.”
Labour had to “unite and fight”, he said amid speculation that Great Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could mount a leadership challenge.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley acknowledged it had been “quite a challenging couple of weeks” for the party.
But she said that many more MPs are “frustrated” that their colleagues are already trying to topple Sir Keir.
Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves was delivered a blow by the Office for Budget Responsibility after it warned the chancellor it would downgrade a key economic performance indicator for the UK in a move that could drive tax hikes.
The Independent’s exclusive story came after she suggested the new youth mobility scheme and improved trading relationship with the European Union could reduce the need for tax rises in the forthcoming budget.
Speaking to the Times, the Chancellor said she wanted the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to include the deal with Brussels signed by Sir Keir when it makes economic forecasts.
She also told the newspaper the government wants “an ambitious youth experience scheme” to be scored by the OBR, as it would also be “good for the economy, good for growth and good for business”.
The scheme would allow young people from the UK to work, study and live on the continent, and vice versa, for an extended period of time.
While Ms Reeves was keen to stress the economic benefits of the scheme, the Times suggested it could lead to a new migration headache for the government, as 50,000 Europeans a year could be eligible to live in the UK as a result of it.
Ahead of the Labour conference, backbench MPs and unions renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap.
Several MPs from Liverpool, the host city of the conference, were among those who wrote to the Prime Minister ahead of the gathering insisting the cap “is one of the most significant drivers of child poverty in Britain today”.
Debate over the future of the cap is among a number of areas of benefits policy where ministers could be challenged by Labour members in Liverpool.
Among those who have previously called for it to go is Lucy Powell, the former Commons leader who is the frontrunner in the race to become the next Labour deputy leader.
Labour MPs forced a U-turn on Sir Keir’s plans to cut the benefits bill earlier this year.
But in a hint that ministers are willing to return to the battle, Darren Jones, the PM’s chief secretary and a senior Cabinet Office minister, told the Telegraph that the benefits bill is “unsustainable in the long run”.
Sir Keir’s plans for a new digital ID system, unveiled at a conference of centre-left leaders in London on Friday, will also likely face scrutiny at the conference.
Senior Labour figures are meanwhile expected to set out the details of a fresh tranche of “New Towns” at the event.
