Overview

• Keir Starmer framed the contest with Reform UK as a fight for the country’s soul, saying Britain faces a defining choice between decency or division.
• He accused Nigel Farage of not liking or believing in Britain and cast him as an unpatriotic “snake oil merchant” who thrives on grievance.
• Starmer announced a 2027 NHS “online hospital” intended to deliver up to 8.5 million extra appointments and let patients manage prescriptions, referrals, tests and bookings via the app.
• Reform signaled a rapid rebuttal, with Farage calling Starmer unfit for office and alleging Labour’s rhetoric endangers his party’s candidates and activists.
• Labour’s push comes after weeks of poor polling and internal strain, with senior figures split over calling Reform’s immigration stance racist and the government warning of tough fiscal decisions ahead of the Budget.