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UK’s Starmer says ousting him would lead to chaos, far-right government

Instability ‘would gift Nigel Farage’, the PM said, referring to the right-wing Reform UK leader who currently tops opinion polls

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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer during an interview with the BBC on Saturday. Photo: AFP
Bloomberg

Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned his governing Labour Party that removing him in 2026 would plunge Britain into “utter chaos” and open the door to a far-right government.

The turmoil wrought by the constant chopping and changing of staff under the previous Conservative administration is “amongst the reasons that the Tories were booted out so effectively at the last election”, Starmer told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
Any repeat of that instability “would gift Nigel Farage”, Starmer said, referring to the populist right-wing Reform UK leader who currently tops opinion polls and is seen as Labour’s main rival at the next general election, expected by 2029 at the latest.
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“We know from that evidence what happens if you go down that chaotic path and I’m not going to take us back to that kind of chaos,” the prime minister said.

Starmer was speaking in a long-form interview with the national broadcaster designed to set out a clearer narrative about his government’s domestic achievements, following criticism from his own lawmakers that he has failed to define the purpose of his premiership since winning power a year and a half ago.
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He has the worst satisfaction rating of any prime minister of the past 50 years polling even worse than market-roiling former Tory leader Liz Truss.

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