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Published 11:15 11 May 2026 BST
Updated 11:16 11 May 2026 BST
Keir Starmer has taken aim at Nigel Farage, labelling him a “grifter” and a “chancer” over his claims about Brexit.
On Monday, the prime minister delivered a major speech addressing the disappointing local election results Labour suffered last week.
The results have ramped up pressure on Starmer and increased speculation about a potential leadership challenge in the Labour Party.
Monday’s speech was widely seen as an attempt from Sir Keir to see off any leadership challenge and reinvigorate his premiership.
The PM acknowledged he and his party had made mistakes since winning the 2024 general election, but said he was determined to prove his doubters wrong.
Starmer vowed that Labour will “face up to the big challenges” facing the country and made reference to “dangerous opponents.”
In an apparent reference to Reform UK, Starmer said Labour would “never be forgiven” for inflicting chaos on Britain and said the country “will go down a very dark path” if Labour doesn’t get things right.
Whilst Starmer didn’t explicitly mention Reform, he did later take aim at their leader Nigel Farage.
Before moving onto the subject of Europe, the prime minister said: “I need to take a bit of a detour on this because I want to remind you what Nigel Farage said about Brexit.
He went on to then highlight the falsehoods Farage had peddled about Brexit: “He said it would make us richer. Wrong. It made us poorer. He said it would reduce migration. Wrong. Migration went through the roof. He said it would make us more secure. Wrong again. It made us weaker.
“He took Britain for a ride and, unlike the Tories [who] actually at least have to face up to it, he just fled the scene and now he’ll talk aboutalmost anything other than the consequences of the one policy he actually delivered.
“Because he’s not just a grifter, he is a chancer.”
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