PRIME Minister Keir Starmer will warn of “dangerous right-wing politics” taking hold in the UK as he addresses the Scottish Labour conference on Sunday.
Speaking in Glasgow, the UK Labour leader will issue a warning about the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform – who he will say pretend to be for working people while actually manoeuvring against their interests.
Starmer will attempt to seize the narrative, saying that if Labour fail to provide a clear path to a brighter future, Reform will be able to frame the political debate.
“Because we all know what happens if we don’t win this race – it’s written into the fabric of every community in this nation,” he will say in reference to the 2026 Holyrood election.
“The skilled jobs that disappeared, the communities that lost their place in the world – not just the security and dignity of their work, not just their pride and purpose – their identity.
“That’s the cost of inaction when the winds of change blow this hard. The cost of losing the race for new industries. And look – this is political as well. If we don’t show a path to the future, others will fill that void.
“In fact, they already are. A dangerous right-wing politics – even here in Scotland – that will say they are the ones who can tilt politics towards the interests of working people, even as their proposals do precisely the opposite.
“We have to be ready for this test, conference. Ready to point out that beneath the bluster, the alternative they offer is alien to working people.
“You want to know what Farage and Reform are doing, on their rare visits to Parliament?
“They’re voting against our Employment Rights Bill. They talk the language of workers’ rights online and on doorsteps, but they want to charge people to use the NHS.
“They are not the answer people are looking for. That is not the answer for Britain. And it will never be the answer for Scotland.”
Responding, a spokesperson for Reform UK in Scotland said: “Keir Starmer can try and deflect all he wants but the reality is that he is failing Scotland and he is now a deeply unpopular figure here.
“While Labour continue the Tory tradition of failing Scotland in Westminster, Reform offer real change from [the] status quo. Scottish people are sick of Tory and Labour lies. Scotland is broken, Scotland needs Reform.”
“Just consider the budget: £47.7 billion for the Scottish Government,” he will tell Labour delegates. “The most money ever provided in the devolution era – a stable foundation for the economy.
“For three interest rate cuts, more money for Scottish schools, more money for Scottish hospitals, more money for Scottish police services, more money for Scotland.
“And what did the SNP do? They voted against it.
“The same old SNP: gesture politics first, Scotland second.”
He will further say: “While we will work with whoever the Scottish people elect, just imagine what we could achieve, together.
“Imagine the possibilities for change. If we end the 19-year SNP rule in Scotland as emphatically as we ended 14 years of Tory rule in Britain.
“A Labour government in Westminster, a Labour government in Holyrood, with Anas Sarwar – a Labour first minister.”
Responding, the SNP's depute leader at Westminster Pete Wishart said it was "rich for Sir Keir to lecture the Scottish electorate on the dangers of Nigel Farage when the Labour party is locked in a battle for second place with him, pandering to his shameful ideologies". He went on: “And while Anas Sarwar and Keir Starmer flail from disaster to disaster, under John Swinney’s leadership, the SNP are resolutely focused on the issues that matter to the people of Scotland – investing in our NHS and reducing waiting times, taking action to tackle the cost of living by bringing back universal winter heating support and supporting jobs and economic growth."
