68 m. ago Backlash to Starmer’s immigration speech ‘overblown’ – minister

Sir Keir’s comments have been likened to Enoch Powell’s infamous ‘rivers of blood’ speech.

Politics

16 h. ago No 10 defends Starmer’s language on immigration likened to Enoch Powell speech

Downing Street says it is wrong to compare PM’s warning about ‘island of strangers’ to 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speechDowning Street has robustly defended Keir Starmer’s language on immigration, which has been likened to that used by Enoch Powell, rejecting the direct comparison but saying the prime minister would not “shy away” from direct talk about the subject.A series of MPs criticised Starmer for his rhetoric when introducing a new policy paper on immigration on Monday, particularly his warning that the UK risked becoming “an island of strangers”, a near-direct echo of language used by Powell in his infamous 1968 “rivers of blood” speech. Continue reading...

Politics

17 h. ago Why is Keir Starmer's speech being compared to Enoch Powell's Rivers of Blood speech?

What are the similarities?

Events

20 h. ago Starmer rejects Enoch Powell parallel after ‘island of strangers’ speech

Labour critics express concern about ‘chasing the tail of the right’ after migration announcement

Politics

21 h. ago Starmer ‘completely rejects’ claims he echoed Enoch Powell in migration speech

The Prime Minister warned the UK risked becoming an ‘island of strangers’ if migration controls were not tightened.

Politics

22 h. ago Keir Starmer doubles down on 'island of strangers' remark after Enoch Powell comparison

Keir Starmer's official spokesman said the PM rejects comparisons between his migration speech and Enoch Powell's notorious 'rivers of blood' speech after fierce criticism

Politics

23 h. ago Yvette Cooper hits back at comparisons between Starmer speech and Enoch Powell

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said it was not right to make comparisons between Keir Starmer's remarks and Enoch Powell's racist 'river of blood speech' in an exchange with the BBC's Nick Robinson

Events

25 h. ago Cooper defends Starmer as migration speech likened to ‘rivers of blood’ language

The Home Secretary insisted the tone of the Prime Minister’s migration plan was ‘completely different’ from Enoch Powell’s 1968 anti-migration speech.

Events

39 h. ago Keir Starmer backlash after 'island of strangers' migrant speech

Keir Starmer has been accused of 'shameful and dangerous' language, with suspended Labour MP John McDonnell claiming it 'reflects the language' of Enoch Powell's notoriously racist 'rivers of blood' speech

Events

39 h. ago Starmer defends plans to curb net migration after backlash from MPs

Prime minister’s ‘island of strangers’ speech was likened to rhetoric of Enoch PowellKeir Starmer has defended his plans to curb net migration after an angry backlash from MPs, businesses and industry to a speech in which he said the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers” without tough new policies.The rhetoric was likened by some critics to the language of Enoch Powell, and the prime minister was accused of pandering to the populist right by insisting he intended to “take back control of our borders” and end a “squalid chapter” of rising inward migration. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Starmer accused of echoing far right with ‘island of strangers’ speech

Prime minister’s immigration speech was likened by MPs to rhetoric of Enoch PowellKeir Starmer has defended his plans to curb net migration after an angry backlash from MPs, businesses and industry to a speech in which he said the UK risked becoming an “island of strangers” without tough new policies.The rhetoric was likened by some critics to the language of Enoch Powell, and the prime minister was accused of pandering to the populist right by insisting he intended to “take back control of our borders” and end a “squalid chapter” of rising inward migration. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Trump’s trade war will cause dilemma for the Fed, says chairman Jerome Powell

Tariffs are ‘highly likely’ to drive short-term inflation, Powell says in Chicago speech

Politics

4 w. ago Underdogs: The Truth About Britain’s White Working Class review – a complicated class portrait

Journalist Joel Budd travels around Britain demolishing Brexit myths in a nuanced study of a social group too often reduced to a cartoon by politiciansOn 13 November 1968, a 35-year-old Labour politician got to his feet in the House of Commons and had a go at the ranks of Conservative members who faced him. Six or so months after Enoch Powell had delivered his infamously racist “rivers of blood” speech in Birmingham, David Winnick – who was then the MP for Croydon South – had decided to attack the Tory fashion for bemoaning immigration to the UK from such countries as India and Pakistan and expressing faux sympathy with deprived communities in British cities. “Many of those who act as the champions of the white person against immigrants,” he said, “have not in the past gone out of their way to defend the interests of the white working class.”As the Economist journalist Joel Budd points out in this nuanced, enlightening book about the people and places Winnick was referring to, this ...

Events