Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has responded to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent speech on immigration by claiming that Starmer is adopting many of Reform's positions. Farage, in a pointed message, said he "very much enjoyed" the speech delivered on Monday, suggesting the Labour leader was "learning a very great deal from us."

 

In a statement following Starmer’s address, Farage pushed the prime minister to take stronger action on illegal immigration and to declare the situation at the English Channel a national emergency. Referring to a recent case involving a suspected terrorist, Farage said: “Over the weekend, an illegal immigrant from Iran, who we believe came by boat, was arrested in the north of England on serious charges of terrorism.” He added that in the days following Starmer’s speech, “1,000 young, undocumented young males have crossed the English Channel.”

🚨 NEW: Nigel Farage says Reform "very much enjoyed" Keir Starmer's immigration speech, claiming he's "learning" from them and urging him to go further by declaring a national security emergency in the Channel

Starmer: "The Borders' Bill gives terrorism-like powers to law… pic.twitter.com/Em7cV1agYP

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Farage continued, “We at Reform, a party that is alive and kicking, very much enjoyed your speech on Monday, you seem to be learning a very great deal from us. Could I encourage you please to go further, as a matter of national security?”

 

He used the incident as a springboard to call for a formal declaration of emergency, arguing that the volume and nature of recent Channel crossings represent a threat to national security. “Does the prime minister agree, now is the time to declare the situation in the English Channel as a national security emergency?” he asked.

 

Starmer responded by acknowledging the severity of the situation but pointed the finger at the previous Conservative administration for the current state of the UK’s border control. “The situation is serious, the last government lost control of the borders,” Starmer said.

 

He went on to highlight the new measures included in the government's proposed Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill. “The bill is the first bill to give terrorism-like powers to law enforcement, precisely so that we can get in before the crimes are committed, before people get to this country,” he stated. Emphasizing the scale of the legislative step, he added, “This is the most far-reaching provision ever for law enforcement to defend and secure our borders.”

 

The exchange underlines the rising tensions in British politics over immigration and border control, with Farage positioning himself and his party as the architects of a harder line approach that he believes the current government is beginning to adopt. Whether the prime minister's proposals will go far enough to satisfy critics like Farage remains to be seen.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Guardian  2025-05-16

 

 

Starmer certainly does appear to be mimicking Reform's stance on immigration.

 

It's just a shame he doesn't mean any of it.