Keir Starmer slams Reform UK's 'dangerous right-wing politics' as he accuses Farage of 'fawning over Putin'

23 February 2025, 11:29 | Updated: 23 February 2025, 12:26

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has hit out at Reform UK's 'dangerous' politics as he delivered a decisive Scottish Labour conference speech on Sunday.

The Prime Minister condemned the "dangerous right-wing politics" of Reform UK as he took to the stage in Glasgow on Sunday, insisting Nigel Farage's party are "not the answer for Britain".

He said Reform UK are attempting to "tilt politics towards the interests of working people".

"We have to be ready for this test," he said.

"Ready to point out that beneath their bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people."

Hitting out at Nigel Farage and his political party, Starmer insisted Reform is "not the answer people are looking for", pointing out Reform's comments on a desire to "charge people to use the NHS".

He added: "They claim to be the party of patriotism but they're fawning over Putin."

It comes as the most recent YouGov poll showed Reform on 27 per cent support - two percentage points ahead of Labour and six ahead of the Tories.

Sir Keir warned: "If we don't show a path to the future, others will fill that void. In fact, they already are. 

"A dangerous right-wing politics - even here in Scotland - that will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people.

"Even as their proposals do precisely the opposite. A politics which feeds off the failure of the free market. A failure of public services to reform.

"And, above all, a failure to control borders properly. We have to be ready for this test. Ready to point out that beneath their bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people."

It comes as Reform UK pulled ahead of Labour in an opinion poll.

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The Prime Minister continued: "You want to know what Farage and Reform are doing, on their rare visits to Parliament?

“They’re voting against our employments right Bill. They talk the language of workers’ rights online and on doorsteps, but they want to charge people to use the NHS.

“They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain. And it will never be the answer for Scotland.”

"Only Labour can make the difference for working people, only Labour will put more money in your pocket, only Labour will fix our broken economy, only Labour will secure our borders, only Labour can save our NHS, put police back on your streets, give our children the opportunities they deserve," he said.

"Only Labour can deliver change for Scotland."

It comes as MP Nigel Farage told the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland, US, that "everyone's miserable" in the UK, under a "Left-wing, awful government."

“My country – you can’t say anything or you might get put in prison," he said.

“We’re getting poorer. Everybody's miserable. We’re governed by a Left-wing, awful government.

“Suddenly, post-November 5 America is optimistic, it’s upbeat. It’s the beginning of a golden age in America.”

The Prime Minister told the Scottish Labour conference "Scotland must "come first" ahead of "political games".

He added: "We won't play political games, we won't indulge in constitutional grandstanding, we won't lose our focus on what matters to the Scottish people."

The Government, he said, will not "block" the Scottish Government if they have different priorities.

The Government will provide £200 million in investment for Grangemouth with the oil refinery set to close in the coming months, the Prime Minister has said.

The funding will come from the National Wealth Fund, Keir Starmer told the Scottish Labour conference, and will be used to "grasp the opportunities at Grangemouth".

"We will grasp the opportunities at Grangemouth, work alongside partners to develop viable proposals, team up with business to get new industries off the ground and to attract private investors into the partnership we need," he said.