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Decades-old racism is resurfacing to British politics, which leaves citizens very scared, the Prime Minister has stated, alerting how polarizing hard-right politics was “dividing the nation”.

Tackling Discriminatory Rhetoric and Divisive Politics

In conversation to GP and TV personality Amir Khan, the prime minister accused the Reform UK party of overseeing a return to discriminatory and divisive political discourse that seemed a thing of the past decades ago”.

In the interview, which aired on ITV’s Lorraine show on Tuesday, the PM provided his strongest signal suggesting the two-child benefit cap might be scrapped during the upcoming fiscal announcement later this month.

Commitment to Combat Child Poverty

Asked whether he planned to eliminate the limit, which charities have said is the biggest driver of poverty for children across Britain, Starmer said: “I can tell you in no uncertain terms I am determined to lower poverty rates for kids.”

He outlined steps the government has already launched such as free school meals, morning meal programs, and childcare but added: “We must go beyond these efforts, and I can look you in the eye that I am dedicated to cutting child poverty.”

When pressed about if his remarks indicated he would lift the two-child limit, Starmer stated “It would be misleading to claim we are going to drive down poverty among children unless I was certain that we will implement several steps to achieve this”.

Clear Indications from Rachel Reeves

The Chancellor, provided a similarly clear signal earlier this week when she told BBC Radio 5 Live that finally, a child should not be penalised if their parents are struggling financially”.

Ministers are reportedly planning to remove the cap completely, having originally looked at gradual removal either for very large families or wealthier families. An economic thinktank projects this would cost about £3.5bn by 2029-30.

Political Divide and National Renewal

In the interview, the Prime Minister explained the political divide currently in Britain was between the government’s vision for renewal and “the toxic division of Reform” and others on the right that are “tearing our country apart”.

“Parts of the discourse being used – discriminatory talk, divisive rhetoric – that many assumed we had dealt with long ago is returning to politics and citizens are very scared,” he stated.

“It is essential to oppose to that racism, that divisiveness, and declare confidently that to be British means showing empathy, is about being fair, entails tolerance and compassionate, and we’re proud of that.”

Reflecting Concerns from the Health Secretary

Starmer echoed language used by the Health Secretary, who warned earlier this month that an “ugly” racism reminiscent of past decades was now alarmingly frequent once more and that healthcare workers were primary targets of this trend.

The health secretary said occurrences of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race now happened so often that it had become “socially acceptable to be racist”.

“It is time to put a stop on racism across the UK and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that has emerged nationally where it belongs and reestablish an environment across Britain that rejects racism to be racist,” the Health Secretary said.

Critical Decision for Voters

The Prime Minister spoke at the Labour party conference in September to draw clear divisions with his political opponents, stating that voters confronted a crucial decision.

He explained he was involved in a struggle for the nation’s identity, and argued that while the public had “reasonable” concerns about illegal migration, there was “a moral line” that Farage and others had overstepped.

Starmer vowed to “fight” 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 “an enemy of national renewal”.

“Encouraging racial attacks and hostility, that goes beyond concern: it’s criminal. This party – this great party – is proud of our flags, yet if they are painted with hateful messages, targeting a business owner to leave the country, that’s not pride; that is pure discrimination,” he told supporters.