As the Labour Party kicked off its annual conference in Liverpool on September 28, 2025, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer found himself at the center of a political storm, facing both internal dissent and mounting pressure from the surging populist Reform UK. The conference, typically a time for celebration and policy discussion, instead became a battleground for the soul of the Labour Party and, as Starmer himself put it, for the very future of the United Kingdom.
The flashpoint? Immigration policy—specifically, Reform UK’s controversial proposal to abolish Indefinite Leave to Remain (ILR), a long-standing route for migrants to settle in Britain. Announced last week by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the plan would force hundreds of thousands of legal residents to reapply for new visas under tougher rules, including higher salary thresholds and stricter English language requirements. If enacted, it could see many who have built lives, families, and careers in the UK facing deportation.
Starmer, who has struggled with sliding poll ratings and speculation about a leadership challenge from Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, did not mince words. Speaking to the BBC as the conference opened, he declared, “I do think it’s a racist policy, I do think it’s immoral—it needs to be called out for what it is.” He went on to draw a sharp distinction between removing illegal migrants and targeting those lawfully present: “It’s one thing to say we’re going to remove illegal migrants, people who have no right to be here, I’m up for that. It’s a completely different thing to say we’re going to reach in to people who are lawfully here and start removing them. They are our neighbours, they’re people who work in our economy, they’re part of who we are. It will rip this country apart.” (BBC News)
The Labour leader’s remarks were echoed throughout the conference halls. During a visit to the Liverpool Echo, Starmer emphasized the human cost: “These are people who have been in our country a long time, are contributing to our society, maybe working in, I don’t know, hospitals, schools, running businesses—our neighbours, and Reform says it wants to deport them in certain circumstances. I think it is a real sign of just how divisive they are and that their politics and their policies will tear this country apart.” (BBC News)
Reform UK, for its part, has hit back hard. Zia Yusuf, a party spokesperson, accused Labour of fearmongering: “Labour’s message to the country is clear: pay hundreds of billions for foreign nationals to live off the state forever, or Labour will call you racist. Reform’s plan will ensure only British people can access welfare and that migrants contribute to society.” (BBC News)
Nigel Farage himself dismissed Starmer’s rhetoric as “language that is bordering on the inciteful,” telling the Telegraph that the prime minister’s attacks “smack, frankly, of total desperation.” Farage has repeatedly argued that his party’s tough stance on immigration is a response to public frustration with what he calls “toxic divide and decline.” (The Times, Telegraph)
Public opinion on the issue is deeply divided. According to a YouGov poll published on September 27, 2025, 58% of Britons oppose removing ILR from those who already hold it, while 44% support ending ILR as a policy. The numbers reflect a nation torn between concerns over immigration and a desire to protect those who have already made Britain their home. (YouGov, BBC News)
The controversy has also exposed rifts within Labour itself. As Starmer called for unity—“We have got the fight of our lives ahead of us because we’ve got to take on Reform. We’ve got to beat them, and so now is not the time for introspection or navel-gazing. We need to be in that fight united.” (BBC News)—some party members have voiced frustration over the pace of change. Trade union leader Sharon Graham, head of Unite, warned, “The budget is an absolutely critical point of us knowing whether direction is going to change. If that budget is essentially nothing... I think we’ve got a real problem on our hands, because without the money to make the change, then nothing is going to change.” (Australian Associated Press)
Labour’s finance minister, Rachel Reeves, faces pressure to increase spending and relax self-imposed fiscal rules that aim to balance the books by 2029. Economists expect tax rises in the upcoming autumn Budget, scheduled for November 26, 2025, as the government seeks to meet these targets. Starmer, however, remains cautious. When pressed about the possibility of a VAT rise, he affirmed, “We put that manifesto before the electorate. We got elected and that manifesto stands. I’m not going to go through the details of what may be in the Budget. Obviously, it’s two months away and no prime minister and no chancellor would ever sit here and indicate two months out what may or may not be in the Budget.” (BBC News)
The debate over immigration and ILR has also shone a spotlight on Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood, who has suggested tightening the rules around claiming ILR. While she supports legal migration, Mahmood insists it must be linked to a “contribution to the wider community.” She told the Sun on Sunday, “So I am looking at how to make sure that settlement in our country—long term settlement, Indefinite Leave to Remain—is linked not just to the job you are doing, the salary you get, the taxes you pay, [but] also the wider contribution you are making to our communities.” (The Sun on Sunday)
Meanwhile, Labour’s conference agenda is packed with other contentious issues. Backbench MPs and unions have renewed calls to end the two-child benefit cap, which many describe as a major driver of child poverty. The prime minister’s plans for a new digital ID system and the announcement of a fresh wave of “New Towns” are also set to be debated, signaling Labour’s attempt to push forward a broad, modernizing agenda even as it faces existential threats from both inside and outside the party. (BBC News)
But the underlying mood in Liverpool is one of anxiety—and, for some, outright alarm. Polling firm Ipsos reports that only 13% of voters are satisfied with Starmer, while a staggering 79% are dissatisfied—the worst score recorded for any prime minister since 1977. One Labour backbencher, quoted by the BBC, lamented, “He makes [former leader Jeremy] Corbyn look loved.” (Australian Associated Press, BBC News)
Yet Starmer remains defiant. “I can’t sit here and say this can all be turned around on a flick of a switch, it’s going to take time... I just need the space to get on and do what we need to do,” he insisted. “It’s the fight of our lives for who we are as a country, and we need to be in that fight, united not navel-gazing.” (BBC News)
With the next general election not due until 2029, the coming months will test not just Starmer’s leadership, but the very direction of British politics. For now, the Labour leader is betting that unity, resolve, and a clear stand against what he calls divisive populism will be enough to weather the storm.
