PULSE POINTS:
❓What Happened: British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged that Nigel Farage and his Reform Party are now the ruling Labour Party’s main rivals for power.
👥 Who’s Involved: Sir Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage, Labour Party, Reform Party, Conservative Party.
📍 Where & When: Starmer made the comments to fellow Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) on May 19.
💬 Key Quote: “Reform are our main rivals for power. We have a moral responsibility to make sure Farage never wins.” — Sir Keir Starmer.
⚠️ Impact: The admission is a major shakeup in British politics, which has been dominated by Labour and the Conservatives for around a century.
IN FULL:
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has reportedly told the inner circle of his ruling Labour Party that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and his party are now their “main rivals for power.” Starmer met with his Members of Parliament (MPs) on May 19, telling them, “The Conservatives are not our principal opponent. Reform are our main rivals for power. We have a moral responsibility to make sure Farage never wins.”
Starmer labelled Farage, “A state-slashing, NHS-privatising, Putin apologist, without a single patriotic bone in his body. We will take the fight to him. We will fight as Labour.”
The statements come just hours after Starmer announced a new trade deal with the European Union (EU), which Farage blasted as a “surrender deal.”
“In 2016, we voted to take back control of our fishing waters from the EU and give a much-needed lifeline to our fishing industry. Today, we learn that Sir Keir Starmer’s much vaunted EU reset deal will grant European fishermen access to British waters for 12 years,” Farage said. He also criticised another aspect of the deal, which could reintroduce a form of Free Movement immigration for EU nationals who are under the age of 30.
Farage also previously criticised Starmer’s trade deal with India, claiming that it betrayed British workers as it could make it 20 percent cheaper for companies to hire Indian workers over native Brits.
Reform dominated the municipal elections in England last month, at the expense of both the Conservatives and Labour. Polling now routinely puts Reform above both the Conservatives and Labour.
