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Historical racism is returning to British politics, and it creates fearful, the Prime Minister has stated, cautioning how divisive far-right political tactics are “tearing our country apart”.

Tackling Discriminatory Language and Divisive Politics

Speaking to doctor and media figure Amir Khan, the prime minister pointed to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK for enabling a return of racist and divisive politics which many believed was resolved decades ago”.

During the discussion, broadcast on ITV’s Lorraine show this week, the PM also gave his strongest signal suggesting the limit on child benefits would be lifted during the upcoming fiscal announcement in the coming weeks.

Promise to Combat Poverty Among Children

Asked if he planned to eliminate the limit, which charities have said is the biggest driver of poverty for children across Britain, the Prime Minister said: “Let me be perfectly clear I will strive to drive child poverty down.”

He listed steps the government has already launched including free school meals, breakfast clubs, and childcare but added: “We must go beyond these efforts, and I pledge that I am personally committed to driving down child poverty.”

When pressed about if his remarks indicated he intended to remove the two-child limit, he said he “wouldn’t be telling you we plan to reduce poverty among children without being sure that we will implement several steps to achieve this”.

Strong Signals from Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves, gave a similarly clear signal earlier this week stating to BBC Radio 5 Live how “in the end, no child should suffer due to their family’s financial situation”.

Government officials are reportedly planning to lift the limit entirely, after initially considering ways to taper it either for very large families or richer ones. The Resolution Foundation has estimated this would cost about £3.5bn by the end of the decade.

Political Divide and National Renewal

During the discussion, the Prime Minister explained the political divide currently in Britain existed between Labour’s “patriotic national renewal” versus Reform’s harmful divisiveness and others on the right that are “tearing our country apart”.

“Certain language being used – discriminatory talk, divisive rhetoric – that many assumed was resolved in the past is returning to politics and citizens are deeply afraid,” he stated.

“We have to stand up such discrimination, that division, and declare confidently that British identity means showing empathy, is about being fair, entails tolerance and kindness, and we’re proud of that.”

Reflecting Warnings from the Health Secretary

The prime minister echoed language used by Wes Streeting, who cautioned earlier this month how an “ugly” racism similar to the 1970s and 1980s had become alarmingly frequent once more with NHS staff were facing the worst of it.

The health secretary noted incidents of both verbal and physical attacks targeting individuals due to race had become so frequent making it “tolerated to hold racist views”.

“We’ve got to call time to discrimination across the UK and we’ve got to put that ugly racist sentiment that has emerged nationally back in its box and reestablish a climate in this country where it is not socially acceptable to be racist,” the Health Secretary said.

Defining Choice for the Public

The Prime Minister used his speech during a major political gathering this autumn to outline political battle lines with his political opponents, saying that voters faced a pivotal moment.

The prime minister said he was engaged in a “fight for the soul of our country”, and argued although the public expressed valid worries regarding unauthorized immigration, existed an ethical boundary that Farage and others had overstepped.

The PM vowed to “fight” those who argued that people who were not white did not belong and that households residing in the UK for generations should be deported, stating people promoting such views constituted “against national unity”.

“If you incite racial attacks and hatred, that is not expressing concern: it is illegal. This party – this great party – values national symbols, yet if they are painted with hateful messages, telling a Chinese takeaway owner to leave the country, that is not patriotism; that is pure discrimination,” he told supporters.