Keir Starmer urges Labour Party unity to fend off Nigel Farage's Reform UK threat

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer urged his Labour Party to stop “navel gazing” and display unity amid threats from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party, which has been consistently topping British polls for weeks.

The British premier told his party members as they gathered for their annual conference in Liverpool to unite for the “fight of our lives” and stand for British values amid Reform’s threat, which he said is guided by a “racist policy”.

His government has struggled to ease growing divisions over immigration, fuelled in part by the arrival of thousands of migrants in small boats across the English Channel.

More than 30,000 people have made the dangerous crossing from France so far this year despite efforts by authorities in the UK, France and other countries to crack down on people-smuggling gangs.

Starmer’s government has only been in office for little more than a year, and in recent weeks, has faced many turbulences, leading public opinion of him, and support from within his own party to wane.

The next election is as much as four years away, but as thousands of Labour Party members gathered beside the river Mersey, lawmakers are growing anxious. A potential leadership rival has emerged in Andy Burnham, the ambitious mayor of Manchester.

“Business as usual … ain’t gonna do it. The plan has to change quite radically,” Burnham said. He added that “it’s the plan that matters most, rather than me,” but acknowledged some lawmakers had approached him about a potential leadership bid.

Speaking to UK media, Starmer downplayed the discontent, saying “in politics, there are always going to be comments about leaders and leadership” and insisting the government had “achieved great things in the first year.”

Burnham replacing Starmer could be some way off though as the former shadow home secretary turned big city mayor is not currently a member of British Parliament.

The PM appealed to his colleagues to maintain trust in him and allow his government to weather the storm.

“I just need the space to get on and do what we need to do,” said Starmer.

Since ending 14 years of Conservative rule with his July 2024 election victory, the Labour party leader has struggled to deliver the economic growth he promised.

Inflation remains stubbornly high and the economic outlook subdued, disrupting efforts to repair inefficient public services and ease the burden of a worsening cost of living crisis.

In recent weeks Starmer has lost his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, who resigned over a tax error on a home purchase, and fired the Washington Ambassador Peter Mandelson, after news surfaced about his past friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

There have also been several exits from his backroom team, adding to a sense of disarray and creating an environment of uncertainty over the future of this government.

And though the UK managed to secure a trade deal with the US easing import duties on some goods, the autumn budget statement in November looks set to be a grim choice between tax increases and spending cuts — or maybe both.

“They’ve only been in government a year and they’ve got a big majority, but most voters seem to be quite disappointed and disillusioned with the government," said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.

Bale added that even though the public’s opinion of Keir Starmer is currently “very low”, he believes that the premier’s best move, for now, is to “keep calm and carry on”.

The government does not have to call an election until 2029, but pressure will mount on Starmer if, as many predict, Labour does badly in local and regional elections in May.