Far right is ‘very real threat’

The far right is a “very real threat” which needs to be combatted, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Speaking on a visit to Paris, the prime minister said the best way to deal with the “snake oil” of populism and nationalism was through “delivery” and “showing there are progressive, democratic answers to the many challenges we face is the way forward”.

In his first month in No 10, Sir Keir faced a wave of riots across England and Northern Ireland fuelled by far-right, anti-immigration sentiment and misinformation online.

The PM said his concern stemmed partly from this summer’s unrest in the UK, as well as the situation in other European countries including France and Germany, which have seen far-right parties make significant gains.

President Emmanuel Macron dissolved France’s parliament following June’s European elections, after the far-right National Rally topped the vote in France.

In Germany, the far-right anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany (AfD) won 16% of the vote, beating Mr Scholz’s centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Sir Keir travelled to Paris on Wednesday evening for the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, meeting President Macron the following day.

The PM said the pair discussed the situation in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as trade, defence and security.

It comes after a visit to Berlin on Wednesday, where he began talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on a new co-operation agreement, covering issues including trade, energy security and tackling illegal immigration.

The meetings are part of the government’s attempt to “reset” relations with Europe after Brexit.

Asked how worried he was about the far right at home and abroad, Sir Keir told broadcasters: “I am worried about the far right. I’m worried about populism and nationalism and the politics of the easy answer, the snake oil, if you like.

“It’s very important that we have a debate about how we confront that. My own personal view is that through delivery, through showing there are progressive, democratic answers to the many challenges we face, is the way forward.”

Sir Keir previously condemned this summer’s unrest in the UK as “far-right thuggery”.

In a speech in the Downing Street rose garden on Tuesday, the PM said the riots “revealed a deeply unhealthy society… weakened by a decade of division and decline, infected by a spiral of populism which fed off cycles of failure of the last government”.

The disorder erupted following the spread of misinformation about the fatal stabbing of three young girls in Southport, with false speculation that the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a boat.