Farage claims Starmer learning from Reform UK as PM defends immigration speech

Sir Keir Starmer has defended his immigration speech where he warned the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers”.

This came as Nigel Farage praised the Prime Minister’s speech which set out plans to crack down on migration, and claimed Sir Keir is “learning a great deal” from Reform UK.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts criticised the language used by the Prime Minister in his speech on Monday, saying “somebody here has to call this out”.

Sir Keir hit back during Prime Minister’s Questions, accusing Ms Saville Roberts of talking “rubbish”.

Backbench Labour MPs have also raised concerns about the speech, with some comparing it to a similar passage from Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 “rivers of blood”.

Speaking in the Commons, Ms Saville Roberts, MP for Dwyfor Meironnydd, said: “This Prime Minister once spoke of compassion and dignity for migrants, and for defending free movement.

“Now he talks of ‘islands of strangers’ and ‘taking back control’. Somebody here has to call this out.

“It seems the only principle he consistently defends is whichever he last heard in a focus group. So I ask him, is there any belief he holds which survives a week in Downing Street?”

Sir Keir replied: “Yes, the belief that she talks rubbish.”

“I want to lead a country where we pull together and walk into the future as neighbours and as communities, not as strangers, and the loss of control of migration by the last government put all of that at risk, and that’s why we’re fixing the system based on principles of control, selection and fairness,” he added.

Later in the session, the Reform UK leader said his party “very much enjoyed” the speech.

He said: “We at Reform, a party that is alive and kicking, very much enjoyed your speech on Monday, you seem to be learning a very great deal from us. Could I encourage you please to go further, as a matter of national security?

“Over the weekend, an illegal immigrant from Iran, who we believe came by boat, was arrested in the north of England on serious charges of terrorism. Since the speech on Monday, 1,000 young, undocumented young males have crossed the English Channel.

“Does the Prime Minister agree, now is the time to declare the situation in the English Channel as a national security emergency?”

The Prime Minister replied: “The situation is serious, the last government lost control of the borders.”

He added: “The (Border Security, Asylum and Immigration) Bill is the first Bill to give terrorism-like powers to law enforcement, precisely so that we can get in before the crimes are committed, before people get to this country.

“This is the most far-reaching provision ever for law enforcement to defend and secure our borders, and that’s why it is extraordinary that he, of all people, voted against it.”

Elsewhere in the session, Labour MP Melanie Onn said jobs in her constituency of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes are under threat from Andrea Jenkyns, Reform UK’s new mayor in Greater Lincolnshire.

She said: “Over 12,000 people are employed in a clean energy job in Greater Lincolnshire, but these jobs are now under threat from Reform’s new mayor, who has declared war on renewables, putting livelihoods at risk.

“What steps will the Prime Minister take to protect jobs by supporting the supply chain and delivery of renewable projects?”

Sir Keir replied: “The parties opposite are climate defeatists – anti-jobs, anti-growth, anti-business and anti-investment, and they should go and pedal their policies to the tens of thousands of people, working people, in this country, working in renewables every single day.

“They don’t think that Britain has the skills, and they would deny us incredible opportunities. We are focused on securing billions in investment, creating tens of thousands jobs and taking us off the rollercoaster of international fossil fuels.”

Labour MP for Barking, Nesil Caliskan, also took the opportunity to criticise Reform UK, saying: “Does the Prime Minister agree with me that Reform MPs working and voting against our Employment Rights Bill show that they are no friend of workers in this country?”

Sir Keir replied: “She’s absolutely right. Let’s be clear what the parties opposite voted against – stronger statutory sick pay, they voted against.

“The right to guaranteed hours, they voted against. Protection from unfair dismissal, they voted against. Stronger protection for pregnant mothers, they voted against.

“Insecure work, a package worth £600 for the poorest workers, they voted against. We’re backing British workers, they vote against them at every turn.”