By Andrew MacAskill
BERLIN (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed concern at the growing threat from far-right groups in the United Kingdom and called on progressive political parties across Europe to work together to deal with the shared challenge.
Britain was hit by anti-immigrant riots earlier this month after a deadly knife attack on a children’s dance class was followed by false claims, amplified by people on the far right, that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
Speaking on Wednesday on a visit to Germany, where the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany has reported a surge in membership, Starmer said populism would be defeated by making people feel better off and promised that life in Britain would improve before the end of his first term in power.
“We should be alive in the UK to the challenge of the far right and populism and nationalism,” he told reporters. “There are a number of reasons for my concern, partly what’s happening in the UK, partly what you can see happening in other European countries, including in France and in Germany.”
Starmer’s centre-left Labour Party won a landslide election victory in early July, in contrast to recent gains by the far right in Europe. But the anti-immigration riots have already created his first major crisis.
British police have arrested more than 1,160 people over the rioting that involved violence, arson and looting, as well as racist attacks targeting Muslims and migrants.
Starmer pledged to tackle the far-right and the “snake oil of populism and nationalism,” saying he would be honest about the country’s problems and how to solve them.
But that task has been made more difficult as it comes against a backdrop of a cost of living crisis and deteriorating public services.
On Tuesday, Starmer warned that his government’s budget statement in October would be “painful” and asked people to accept “short-term pain for long-term good”.
He told reporters on a trip aimed at rebuilding Britain’s fractured relationships with one of its European allies that it was a “tough message” to deliver, but necessary.
He again compared Britain to a house that needs more than cosmetic repairs, saying you need to “get rid of the damp and the cracks first” before you can improve it.
“This is actually a project of hope, but it’s got to start with the hard yards of doing the difficult stuff,” he said.
(Reporting by Andrew MacAskill; Editing by David Holmes)
