Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to defeat Reform UK as he and Labour MPs arrive at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool.
The prime minister claimed Nigel Farage’s party wanted to “tear our country apart”, as he remains under pressure with Labour trailing behind in opinion polls and questions over his own leadership being raised from within his party.
As he arrived in Liverpool for the conference on Saturday , Sir Keir said it would be an opportunity to show Labour’s alternative to the “toxic divide and decline” offered by Reform.
Labour had to “unite and fight”, he said amid speculation that Great Manchester mayor Andy Burnham could mount a leadership challenge.
Labour chairwoman Anna Turley acknowledged it had been “quite a challenging couple of weeks” for the party.
Ahead of the Labour conference, backbench MPs and unions renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap. Sir Keir’s plans for a new digital ID system, unveiled at a conference of centre-left leaders in London on Friday, will also likely face scrutiny at the conference.
