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Long-standing racism has come back within British the political arena, which leaves citizens fearful, Keir Starmer emphasized, alerting that divisive far-right political tactics are “dividing the nation”.

Addressing Racist Language and Divisive Strategies

Speaking to doctor and media figure Amir Khan, Starmer accused the Reform UK party of overseeing the revival of racist and divisive politics that seemed a thing of the past decades ago”.

In the interview, broadcast on a popular morning program this week, Starmer also gave his strongest signal that the two-child benefit cap might be scrapped in the budget later this month.

Promise to Reduce Poverty Among Children

Asked if he planned to eliminate the limit, as noted by advocacy groups is the biggest driver of poverty for children in the UK, the Prime Minister responded: “Let me be perfectly clear I will strive to lower poverty rates for kids.”

He listed measures the government has already launched including no-cost school lunches, morning meal programs, and child care support and emphasized: “We need to do more than that, and I pledge that I am dedicated to driving down child poverty.”

When pressed about if his remarks indicated he intended to remove the two-child limit, Starmer said “I would not say we aim to lower child poverty if I wasn’t clear that we will be taking several steps in order to do so”.

Strong Signals from the Chancellor

Rachel Reeves, gave a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told a national radio station that “in the end, no child should suffer due to their family’s financial situation”.

Ministers are understood to be preparing to lift the limit entirely, after initially considering phasing it out either for very large families or wealthier families. The Resolution Foundation projects this would cost roughly £3.5 billion by 2029-30.

Political Divide and National Renewal

During the discussion, Starmer explained the political divide in the UK now existed between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus “the toxic division of Reform” and other right-wing groups who were “tearing our country apart”.

“Certain language currently circulating – racist rhetoric, divisive rhetoric – which I believed was resolved in the past is returning to politics and it makes people feel fearful,” he said.

“We must confront such discrimination, that divisiveness, and declare confidently that to be British is to have concern for others, is to be reasonable, entails tolerance and kindness, and we’re proud of that.”

Echoing Concerns from the Health Secretary

The prime minister mirrored language expressed by Wes Streeting, who warned earlier this month that a disturbing form of discrimination similar to the 1970s and 1980s had become alarmingly frequent again with NHS staff were facing the worst of it.

The health secretary said occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race had become so frequent that it had become “acceptable to express racism”.

“It is time to put a stop on racism across the UK and we need to place that ugly racist sentiment that’s found expression in our country back in its box and reestablish an environment in this country where it is not socially acceptable to hold racist views,” the Health Secretary said.

Defining Choice for Voters

Starmer spoke at the Labour party conference this autumn to outline clear divisions with his political opponents, saying that voters faced a “defining choice”.

The prime minister said he was involved in a struggle for the nation’s identity, and argued although voters had “reasonable” concerns regarding unauthorized immigration, there was an ethical boundary which some politicians had crossed.

The PM vowed to confront anyone who argued that people who were not white were not truly British and that families who had lived in Britain for years should be deported, saying those advocating these ideas constituted “against national unity”.

“Encouraging racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern: it is illegal. This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, but if they are displayed alongside graffiti, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that is not patriotism; that’s racism,” he informed activists.