Overview

• The prime minister said he does not believe Nigel Farage or Reform voters are racist, clarifying that his criticism targeted Reform’s plan to scrap the route to indefinite leave to remain.
• Keir Starmer linked the rise in small-boat crossings to Brexit, dubbing them “Farage boats,” though experts and reporting noted the old EU Dublin returns system had limited impact.
• Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy repeated an unproven claim that Farage had “flirted with the Hitler Youth” as a schoolboy before later rowing back.
• Farage accused Starmer of endangering Reform activists and called him unfit for office, while a Reform figure alleged Farage’s official security had been cut, a claim that cannot be verified; Starmer rejected suggestions he was inciting threats.
• A More in Common survey reported Labour down five points and Reform up two, widening Reform’s lead over Labour to ten points.