The Prime Minister just handed Nigel Farage the keys to No10
Keir Starmer has made the same mistake as Trump’s biggest enemy (Image: Getty-Express)
Keir Starmer left the Labour Party conference stage swaggering, smiling and smug. The Prime Minister was sure he had saved his political career. But anyone with sense could see he’d sealed his fate. Sir Keir spent most of his speech talking about one thing: Nigel Farage. The Reform UK leader was called an enemy of Britain, unfit to lead and, worst of all, a racist pushing racist policies. Speaking to massed lefties in Liverpool, Starmer said: “We must come together to fight Reform, with everything that this movement has. We must go into that battle armed – not just with words and condemnation – but with action.”
After his speech, the PM doubled down. His minions were clearly briefed to go further than he dared to do in the conference hall. Mastermind David Lammy went furthest of all, wrongly claiming on live TV that Mr Farage “once flirted with the Hitler Youth.” He later rowed back on the comment – but the damage was already done. Mr Farage rightly hit back. He said Sir Keir ought to be “ashamed” of himself and accused the PM of “inciting violence” against him.
If Labour believes this sorry spectacle will help them take votes back from Reform, they are sorely mistaken. In fact, Sir Keir’s speech will have the opposite effect – much like Hilary Clinton’s infamous “basket of deplorables” speech backfired during the 2016 US presidential election.
Mrs Clinton called Donald Trump supporters a “basket of deplorables” with racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic and Islamophobic views. She added: “Now some of those folks are irredeemable, but thankfully they are not America.”
Well, it turned out those so-called “deplorables” were America. Millions of them turned out to vote for Trump and send Clinton packing. They were fed up with being called racist, xenophobic and hateful, simply for thinking differently than out-of-touch liberal, metropolitan elites.
It is clear Keir Starmer has learned nothing from Clinton’s mistake – and he’s bound to pay the same price she did.
