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Diane Abbott has strongly criticised Prime Minister Keir Starmer, calling his recent comments on immigration "fundamentally racist." Abbott, the UK’s first Black female MP, said she was "very disturbed" by Starmer's remarks in a recent speech, where he claimed mass immigration had caused “incalculable damage” to the UK.
Speaking at an anti-austerity demonstration in London attended by thousands, Abbott said: “It was troubling to hear Keir Starmer talk about immigration in such a way. Referring to immigrants as part of a 'squalid chapter' and describing Britain as becoming an 'island of strangers' is deeply offensive. Immigrants didn’t damage this country—they helped build it.”
She argued that the Prime Minister’s words echo sentiments from Enoch Powell’s infamous 1968 "Rivers of Blood" speech and suggested the language used was deliberately chosen to appeal to right-wing voters. Abbott accused Starmer of mimicking Nigel Farage in a bid to win over support from Reform UK voters. “You don’t beat Reform by copying them,” she said.
The speech in question was delivered as Starmer announced a tougher stance on immigration, criticising past Conservative governments for what he called a failed “open borders” approach. While Labour claimed responsibility for a recent drop in net migration, former Home Secretary James Cleverly attributed the decline to Tory immigration policies.
The London protest, organised by The People’s Assembly, featured groups like the Green Party, RMT, NEU, and the Revolutionary Communist Party. Demonstrators rallied against the government's spending cuts and welfare reforms. A spokesperson for The People’s Assembly urged the government to tax the wealthy to fund public services and reduce inequality.
Starmer is now facing mounting pressure from the political left. He recently reversed a decision to cut winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners and is reportedly considering scrapping the two-child benefit cap amid concerns over rising child poverty.
Tensions within the Labour leadership have also surfaced. A leaked memo from Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner to Chancellor Rachel Reeves revealed internal disagreement over economic policy. Rayner had urged Reeves to consider tax increases over spending cuts to manage the country’s finances.
Abbott, who lost the Labour whip in 2023 over controversial comments in a letter to the Observer—comments for which she later apologised—was readmitted to the party before the recent general election. After speculation about her political future, Starmer confirmed she would be allowed to stand again in her Hackney North and Stoke Newington constituency. She currently holds the title of "Mother of the House," being the longest-serving woman MP in Parliament.
