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Long-standing racism is returning to UK politics, which creates deeply uneasy, Keir Starmer has stated, alerting how polarizing hard-right political tactics was “tearing our country apart”.

Tackling Racist Rhetoric and Divisive Politics

Speaking to doctor and media figure a well-known TV doctor, the prime minister pointed to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK for enabling the revival to racist and divisive politics that seemed a thing of the past years back”.

In the interview, broadcast on ITV’s Lorraine show this week, Starmer also gave a clear indication suggesting the limit on child benefits could be removed during the upcoming fiscal announcement in the coming weeks.

Commitment to Reduce Child Poverty

Asked whether he would scrap this restriction, as noted by advocacy groups is the biggest driver of poverty for children across Britain, the Prime Minister said: “I want to state unequivocally I am committed to drive child poverty down.”

He outlined measures the government has already launched such as free school meals, morning meal programs, and childcare and emphasized: “We need to do more than that, and I pledge that I am personally committed to cutting child poverty.”

Pressed on whether his comments meant he would lift the two-child limit, he stated he “wouldn’t be telling you we plan to reduce child poverty unless I was certain that measures will be introduced a number of measures to achieve this”.

Clear Indications from the Chancellor

The Chancellor, provided a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told BBC Radio 5 Live how ultimately, children must not be punished due to their family’s financial situation”.

Ministers are reportedly planning to scrap the restriction fully, having originally looked at ways to taper it either for very large families or richer ones. An economic thinktank projects the expense would be roughly £3.5 billion in the coming years.

Ideological Split and Country’s Revival

In the interview, Starmer said the political divide currently in Britain existed between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus Reform’s harmful divisiveness and others on the right who were “tearing our country apart”.

“Certain language we’re hearing – discriminatory talk, divisive rhetoric – that frankly I thought we had dealt with in the past is coming back into politics and citizens are deeply afraid,” he said.

“We have to stand up to that racism, that divisiveness, and declare confidently that British identity is to have concern for others, requires rationality, is to be tolerant and compassionate, and this is our pride.”

Reflecting Warnings from the Health Secretary

The prime minister echoed sentiments expressed by Wes Streeting, who cautioned recently that a disturbing form of discrimination reminiscent of past decades had become worryingly commonplace again with NHS staff were facing the worst of it.

The health secretary said occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks based on people’s skin colour had become so frequent that it was now “acceptable to express racism”.

“We must end to discrimination across the UK and we’ve got to put such harmful attitudes that’s found expression in our country back in its box and reestablish an environment in this country where racism is unacceptable to be racist,” Streeting said.

Defining Choice for Voters

The Prime Minister used his speech at the Labour party conference this autumn to outline political battle lines with his political opponents, stating that voters faced a “defining choice”.

He said he was engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”, noting although voters expressed valid worries about illegal migration, existed “a moral line” which some politicians had crossed.

The PM pledged to challenge those who argued that non-white individuals could not be English or British and that families who had lived in the UK for generations should be deported, saying those advocating these ideas constituted “against national unity”.

“Encouraging racist violence and hatred, that is not expressing concern: it’s criminal. Our political movement values national symbols, yet if they are painted alongside graffiti, targeting a business owner to ‘go home’, that is not patriotism; that’s racism,” he told supporters.