Prime Minister Keir Starmer launched a fierce dual attack during a visit to Scotland on Thursday, branding Nigel Farage a "toxic, divisive disgrace" over comments about Glasgow schoolchildren while accusing the SNP of damaging Scotland after nearly two decades in power. The confrontation comes less than six months before Scottish Parliament elections in May, with Labour trailing in third place in polls.
Speaking to Scottish journalists at a community centre in Glasgow, Starmer condemned the Reform UK leader's recent remarks claiming nearly one in three Glasgow pupils speak English as a second language. Farage had described this as the "cultural smashing of Glasgow" in a campaign video.
«He's a disgrace. He's a toxic, divisive disgrace. All he wants to do is tear communities apart,» Starmer said. He defended Scotland's diversity and accused Farage of pursuing divisive politics. «I don't go round picking and choosing and trying to divide. I think it's particularly poor that he's reached right into children now to start that divide. All he's interested in is the politics of grievance and the politics of division.»
Starmer went further, accusing Reform UK of having "pro-Russian links" and labeling them a "pro-Putin party." Scottish First Minister John Swinney also weighed in, calling Farage's comments "quite simply racist" and urging voters to consider this before supporting Reform UK.
SNP under fire
Starmer pivoted to attack the SNP's record in Scotland, targeting John Swinney directly for failing to take responsibility after the party's long tenure in power. «John Swinney always points fingers because he never takes responsibility for his own record,» the Prime Minister told journalists.
He challenged the SNP to defend their achievements ahead of May's election. «We've got an election coming up in May, they've been in power for a very, very long time, what he needs to do is explain what his record is. I don't hear him going out there and saying 'vote SNP because we've done all these things', because he can't say that, he hasn't got a record to stand on,» Starmer said. «What they've done is damage rather than improve and that's why, in the end, he's got no positive case to put to Scotland.»
The Prime Minister also reignited the nuclear power dispute with the Scottish Government, which has consistently stated its intent to block nuclear energy sites in Scotland through planning law. Starmer challenged Swinney to reverse this position to bring more jobs to Scotland. «I defy him to reflect on that, change his mind and work with me to ensure we can bring even more of those jobs to Scotland,» he said.
Electoral pressure mounts
The political attacks come amid challenging polling numbers for Scottish Labour, which currently sits 17 points behind the SNP and trails Reform UK in third place for the Holyrood election. Senior party figures have attributed Labour's slump to Starmer's performance since becoming Prime Minister after his landslide victory in July 2024.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar backed Starmer's condemnation of Farage. «As a son of Glasgow, how dare he use Glasgow's kids to spread his own poison? The people of Glasgow have seen the likes of Nigel Farage before and utterly rejected him and they'll do the same again,» Sarwar said.
Conservative MSP Craig Hoy demanded Starmer apologize for what he called the "damage" of the recent budget and called for the dismissal of Rachel Reeves, accusing her of misleading the public and markets.
National security focus
Earlier in the day, Starmer visited Lossiemouth, where he highlighted the constant threat posed by Russian submarines in the North Atlantic and the importance of UK defense contributions amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. The government announced it would offer 35,000 service personnel "return warrant money to go home at Christmas" as a gesture of gratitude.
Starmer defended his government's focus on addressing the cost of living crisis, pointing to recent budget measures including scrapping the two-child benefit cap and cutting £150 off energy bills. «I will be judged at the next election on whether we've made progress on the cost of living, whether public services are better,» he stated.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).