As someone who has kept an eye on party conferences for nearly half a century, I thought I’d seen it all. But never before have I seen one name so dominate a Labour conference. I’m frankly astonished that more than 11 Cabinet ministers have taken to the airwaves over the past 72 hours alone to condemn me and my party.
And there is only one reason for this. A party that won the general election with a loveless landslide just over a year ago now finds itself in very deep (and in many ways deserved) trouble.
This week has shown that the Government is incapable of beating us on our arguments. As a result, Keir Starmer has decided to descend into the gutter – and bring all his Cabinet with him.
Let me be clear: Reform want illegal migrants deported from our country. We want the benefits system to be for British citizens only. We want foreign criminals removed from our prisons.
Labour thinks these policies are racist and immoral – and, by implication, so are the millions of people who support them. The truth is that if you believe we should control our borders, you are – by the definition of the Prime Minister and his entire Cabinet – racist.
In all my years in politics, I have developed a thick skin. So I don’t normally worry about abuse being thrown at me. But to insult countless millions in this way is a very low blow.
I used to think the Prime Minister was a decent man: I’ve said so publicly in the past.
We might disagree on our worldview, but until this weekend I believed he was a reasonable human being. Now I’m shocked at his behaviour. I hope that when he wakes up this morning, he feels ashamed of what he has done to British politics over the past few days.
This is a desperate last throw of the dice from a man in deep trouble, who cannot command the support of even half his own party. A new poll shows 52 per cent of Starmer’s own members now think he should be replaced. I am sorry to say that I believe he is no longer fit to be Prime Minister.
His bizarre attempt yesterday afternoon to invert Reform’s patriotism and love of flag was simply extraordinary. Clearly, this is still the Labour Party of Gordon Brown, who infamously called Rochdale voter Gillian Duffy a ‘bigoted woman’ after she dared to raise concerns about mass immigration back in 2009.
It’s still the Labour Party of Emily Thornberry, who thought that flying the Cross of St George on a house in Kent was something shameful back in 2014. It’s a Labour Party that does not understand – and can never accept – any sense of English identity.
Starmer says that I don’t like or love this country. Well, let me say this: for 30 years, I’ve fought for British sovereignty. Why? Because I’ve always believed that the best people to govern Britain are the British themselves.
And Starmer? He hated the Brexit vote and spent years trying to overturn it. In his heart, he’s happy for us to be ruled by a series of foreign courts. He does not believe in our country.
Britain is broken – and it needs fixing. Our vision is the positive one – not Labour’s – and that’s why more than 100 national opinion polls have put us ahead.
This Labour conference has lacked any ideas, and I’m sorry to say that Britain is going to continue in economic, social and cultural decline for us as long as that party is in government. But Starmer was right about one thing. We are indeed facing a ‘fork in the road’.
He is a human rights lawyer who will bow down to foreign courts and outdated treaties, and he has no idea of the division that open borders have caused within our communities. Britain has had enough of a failing, gutless political class. It is crying out for real change.
Next May will see Britain’s equivalent of America’s ‘mid-term’ elections. Wales, Scotland, London and many other parts of the country will go out to vote. I am now, as a result of the abuse that has been heaped upon our supporters and our voters, more determined than ever. Mark my words – Reform will teach Keir Starmer and the Labour Party a lesson at the ballot box.
