LONDON, July 1 (Reuters) – Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Wednesday that racism and intolerance had worsened in Britain over the past decade, warning it was damaging social cohesion and deterring people from public life.
He spoke a day after a Reuters report found some Britons of colour fear a resurgence of racism linked to anti-migrant rhetoric and a political focus on crime, following recent unrest including protests in Southampton after the murder of Henry Nowak and rioting in Belfast after a stabbing attack.
Facing questions in parliament, Starmer said “racism and intolerance is permeating everywhere.”
The British leader was responding to a lawmaker who said he was worried that racism and the incitement of violence linked to it were being normalised, including by some politicians.
“We have to deal with it, because it’s tearing our societies apart,” Starmer said, adding that “it should be called out by every single person who is a politician at any level in this country.”
Starmer recalled the 2016 death of Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, an active supporter of immigration and social cohesion, who was killed by a far-right extremist days before the Brexit referendum.
He said that when reflecting recently upon her death he felt things had got worse, not better, in the intervening decade.
Tuesday’s Reuters report cited warnings from trade unions and professional bodies about rising racist abuse in workplaces and public life, alongside heightened tensions following the unrest across the United Kingdom.
Nigel Farage, the leader of populist party Reform UK, has accused British institutions of discriminating against white people, arguing they were biased by policies aimed at supporting ethnic minorities. Starmer has rejected those claims.
Addressing the tone of political debate, Starmer said: “That’s on us to fix – every single member of this house, whatever their party is and anybody who inflames it should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.”
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti, Editing by William Maclean)
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