Speaking at an event in north-west England, Keir Starmer has attacked Nigel Farage, saying the leader of Reform UK cannot be trusted and argued that his unfunded spending commitments were akin to those of Liz Truss.
Starmer’s speech follows Farage recently laying out Reform UK’s policy pledges, which included the restoration of winter fuel payments for all pensioners and scrapping the two-child benefit cap, as well as expanded tax breaks for married couples.
Speaking about industries that were subject to tariffs from the United States, Starmer said the Labour government protected those jobs and pointed out that Nigel Farage would not have, calling the Reform UK leader “Liz Truss all over again”.
Liz Truss’s 2022 mini-budget, which included £45 billion in unfunded tax cuts, triggered financial turmoil, crashing the pound and spiking government borrowing costs. The market chaos shattered confidence in her leadership, forcing a rapid U-turn on policy and ultimately leading to her resignation after just 44 days as Prime Minister.
“That’s the question to have to ask about Nigel Farage. Can you trust him? Can you trust him with your future? Can you trust him with your jobs? Can you trust him with your mortgages, your pensions, your bills? And he gave the answer on Tuesday. A resounding no,” Starmer said.
“He set out economic plans which contain billions upon billions of completely unfunded spending. Precisely the sort of irresponsible splurge that sent your mortgage costs, your bills and the cost of living through the roof. It’s Liz Truss all over again.”
“We were elected to fix that mess. Now in government, we are once again fighting the same fantasy – this time from Farage,” he said.
Reform surging in the polls
Starmer’s speech comes after data based on the recent local election results showed Reform UK surging ahead as it draws voters from both the Labour and Conservative parties.
These county elections were held in more traditionally Conservative areas, and the Conservatives suffered dramatic defeats by losing all 16 of the councils they controlled going into the election.
Polling by More in Common found that when asked about the most likely outcome of the next general election, Reform’s Nigel Farage has surpassed Labour as the public’s most probable Prime Minister, and a third of respondents (33%) now expect Reform UK to be in government in 2029.
At the event, Starmer also addressed the decline of the Conservative party reflected in the polls, saying that the party has “run out of road”.
“Their project is faltering. They’re in the decline. They’re sliding into the abyss. It’s very important, therefore, that we say that and identify that,” he said.
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