Keir Starmer faced criticism on Sunday for allegedly offending millions of voters concerned about immigration issues in the UK when he labeled Reform’s immigration proposals as ‘racist’.

With Labour increasingly worried about Reform’s rising popularity in the polls, the Prime Minister intensified his criticism of Nigel Farage’s proposal to dismantle residency regulations, asserting that the plan ‘must be recognized for what it is’.

Mr Farage said the claim was an ‘insult’ to millions who want the Government to finally get a grip on immigration.

He expressed to the Daily Mail that the Prime Minister has insulted those advocating for an end to mass migration. Starmer seems to believe that anyone with a temporary visa should be allowed to stay in the UK indefinitely. According to him, Labour opposes border controls and considers those who support them to be racist.

Emphasizing recent polls that suggest his party is on track to win the upcoming election, Mr. Farage commented, “Keir Starmer has been targeting Reform throughout the weekend, and this is why.”

Ministers were surprised by the Prime Minister’s bold decision to address the race issue. Although high-ranking figures publicly supported him, some privately worried that this approach might not be effective.

A Labour insider remarked, “I understand he is critiquing Farage’s divisive policy. However, there’s a risk that people with genuine concerns might interpret this as being called racist. I’m unsure if this is the right strategy to regain support from Reform voters.”

And despite the PM’s angry attack, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood will today trumpet plans to crack down on the system for granting migrants ‘indefinite leave to remain’. 

It came as:

• Sir Keir admitted the Left had ‘got it wrong’ on immigration for years;
•  Andy Burnham renewed his attack on the PM’s leadership, accusing him of presiding over a ‘climate of fear’ in the party that was stifling ‘open debate’;
• The PM refused to rule out raising VAT in the Budget; 
•  Exclusive polling for the Daily Mail revealed voters see Labour as the least patriotic party, despite Sir Keir’s pledge to lead a ‘patriotic renewal’ of Britain;
•  Rachel Reeves is preparing to warn youngsters they will have to take a state-sponsored job after 18 months on the dole, or lose benefits;
• The PM told Labour critics of his leadership to stop ‘navel-gazing’ and asked rivals to ‘give me space’ to get a grip on the Government;
• A poll predicted Reform would win an election today with a majority of 94 seats.  

Sir Keir’s intervention came after Reform published plans last week designed to prevent migrants claiming benefits in this country.

Under existing rules, people can claim ‘indefinite leave to remain’ after five years, giving them access to the benefits system. 

Mr Farage has proposed tearing up the system and requiring those previously granted indefinite leave to apply for new visas with more stringent conditions. 

They would no longer be able to claim benefits and those who fail to get a new visa would face deportation, even if they have lived in the country for years.

Sir Keir told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg that the plan would ‘rip this country apart’, adding: ‘It is one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here. I’m up for that.

‘It is a completely different thing to say we are going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours.’ 

Asked if he thought it was racist, he added: ‘I do think that it is a racist policy. I do think it is immoral.’

Sir Keir denied he was painting Reform’s supporters as racists, saying many were just ‘frustrated’ with the slow pace of change.

But critics accused the PM of making a direct link between concern about immigration and racism.

Reform policy chief Zia Yusuf said: ‘Labour’s message to the country is clear – pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state for ever, or Labour will call you racist.’ 

Conservative MP Nick Timothy said the PM’s jibe revealed his true feelings about those who complained about the impact of immigration.

Sir Keir said he wanted to accelerate the closure of asylum hotels, which are due to remain in use until 2029.

But other senior figures warned against responding to Reform by taking a tougher line on immigration.

Lucy Powell, who is favourite to be Labour’s next deputy leader, said the party should ‘absolutely reject the idea that all the ills of this country… are caused by migration, because they’re not…We’ve got to absolutely reject that. They’re caused by lots of other factors.’

Labour figures lined up to attack Mr Farage at yesterday’s conference in Liverpool.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said he was ‘relishing taking the fight to Nigel Farage and calling out his small-minded, narrow, peculiar, weird set of policies and holding them up to the light’.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar accused Mr Farage of ‘gutter politics and bile’, and Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens suggested Reform could not be trusted because they ‘can’t even spell Caerphilly right’.

It came as Attorney General Lord Hermer suggested that criticism of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) for frustrating deportations was being fuelled by the ‘far Right’. 

Lord Hermer, one of Sir Keir’s closest political friends, said Labour would never leave the ECHR and suggested the public were not valuing it properly because ‘the populist far Right are very good at comms’.