Nicola Sturgeon: ‘Keir Starmer is legitimising Nigel Farage'

Read time: 3 minutes

In brief:

• Nicola Sturgeon says Nigel Farage will become the Prime Minister in the next general election if Keir Starmer’s Labour government doesn’t make a swift change in its messaging on immigration.
• She believes Starmer should counter Reform's messaging by explaining why immigration is beneficial for the UK and identifying the real causes of Britain's problems, particularly Brexit and wealth inequality.
• Sturgeon warns that without offering alternative solutions and hope, Labour risks losing to Reform UK, comparing Farage's tactics to Donald Trump's playbook of scapegoating minorities.

Nicola Sturgeon has a very clear message to Keir Starmer if he wants to stop the rise of the Reform UK party; change course.

The former First Minister believes that Starmer’s strategy of giving credibility to Reform’s narrative that immigration is to blame for the everyday Brit's problems is “deeply misguided".

The more that he accepts - and goes along with - Farage’s diagnosis, the more he will push people towards Reform, she says.

“If you basically say Nigel Farage is right, then people are likely to vote for Nigel Farage, not you, because they look at you and think; ‘Well, you haven't managed to do anything about it so far’,” Sturgeon tells Emily Maitlis on The News Agents.

Reform UK is outperforming Labour in voting intention polls, and the party dominated much of the political conversation over the summer as many English towns, most notably Epping, saw unrest over the use of hotels to house asylum seekers crossing the channel.

“If there was a general election in the UK tomorrow, I think Farage would emerge from it as prime minister,” Sturgeon says.

“And that, in my view, is the really bad news. The really good news is that the general election is not tomorrow, so there's time to try to turn that tide back but it won't happen unless people actually make the argument.”

The argument from Reform is loud and clear; send them back.

The argument from Labour, is in effect, a diluted version of the same message - which, Sturgeon argues, has legitimised Farage.

Earlier this year the PM declared the UK an “Island of Strangers” (something he later rode back on), and more recently he brought immigration into Labour’s top three priorities, moving Shabana Mahmood into the role of Home Secretary after being seemingly unimpressed with the progress Yvette Cooper was making.

But Sturgeon says people are not hearing the counter argument, the real reason for why the country is suffering from a cost of living crisis and overrun public services.

“Immigration is not the root cause of the issues that the UK is grappling with right now. Brexit is more of a root cause,” she insists.

Keir Starmer is not saying this, she says – but he should be.

“He's not saying; ‘yes, we've got to make sure we've got a functioning immigration and asylum system. Yes, we've got to convince people that the levels of immigration are are appropriate. But here's why immigration is actually good for our country. Here's why we need it, and here's what the real issues are that we need to grapple with. And here are what the actual solutions are.’

“He’s not doing that, he's legitimising Nigel Farage’s central argument. And if you legitimise your opponent's central argument, then don't be surprised if people vote for your opponent.”

Read more:

Sturgeon: 'I have no animosity towards JK Rowling – I don’t think it’s the same in reverse’

The shameless hypocrisy of Nigel Farage

'Send them back!': The hard-right have no answers for migrant hotels

But while Sturgeon believes Brexit is a large factor for the current state of the country, she adds it’s not the sole factor.

“It suits people like Farage to make people think the struggles they're having, rather than being down to the yawning gap between the richest and the poorest in this country - and, Nigel Farage is, perhaps part of the minority there - it suits him to make people think it's the immigrant, it's the gay person,” Sturgeon says.

“If you're a young working class man who's struggling, it's because women's rights have gone too far.

“It suits him to have people looking in another direction.”

This, she adds, is the playbook of Donald Trump.

The progressive left should be offering real solutions, as well as some hope and aspiration that things will get better for people, she says.

“You won't beat Farage by saying, effectively, ‘he's right’.

“You have to offer the alternative, not by saying that the problems people are struggling with are not real, but by offering a better set of solutions,” she tells Emily.

Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.