Reform UK “can’t run themselves” let alone the country, Sir Keir Starmer said as he launched Labour’s local election campaign.
In a pitch to wavering Labour voters amid a slump in the polls, the prime minister mocked the recent infighting within Nigel Farage’s party after the suspension of Rupert Lowe.
“They say they want to run the country. They can’t even run themselves. You can literally fit their MPs now in the back of a cab, but they still don’t know where they’re going,” Sir Keir said.
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The prime minister also attacked Reform’s position on workers’ rights, saying that while its MPs “talk the language” they voted against banning hire and refire, scrapping zero-hours contracts and increasing maternity pay.
He also claimed the party wants to “charge people for using the NHS” and accused its leader of “fawning over [Russian President Vladimir] Putin”.
Mr Farage last week denied wanting to make people pay to visit the doctor but said Britain should “re-examine” how it funds the NHS.
In January the MP said he was “open to anything” and would consider a “‘French-style” insurance system.
Labour has used the comments as its main point of attack on Reform, which is hoping to make gains at the local elections on 1 May.
Ballots will be held for 23 councils and six mayoralties in England.
It will be the first big test of all the parties since the general election, which fundamentally redrew the UK’s political landscape with a new world of multiparty politics.
Sir Keir also attacked the Tories in his speech, saying they “crashed the economy” and failed to get a grip on illegal migration during their 14 years in office.
He acknowledged people are still struggling with the cost of living, but insisted things would get better with policies like the rise in the national minimum wage and free breakfast clubs in schools.
He also hammered home his record on the NHS, saying Labour ended the doctors’ strikes and delivered two million extra hospital appointments within its first few months off office.
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However, the government is still reeling from a row over its spring statement, when a package of spending cuts, including some £5bn off the welfare bill, was announced, to the disdain of some of its own MPs.
There are fears more cuts or tax rises could be in the pipeline as a result of Donald Trump’s new tariffs, which risk wiping out Chancellor Rachel Reeve’s precarious fiscal headroom.
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The US president’s announcement last night somewhat overshadowed the local election launch in the Midlands today, which followed Reform’s launch last week.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have also recently launched their campaigns.
In response to a question from Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, Sir Keir repeated that “all options are on the table” when it comes to responding to the levies. He would not be drawn on how it could impact people’s jobs, bills or public services.
Asked if he might have to go back to benefit claimants to balance the books, the prime minister said: “The autumn budget is a long way off, and there’s a lot of water that’ll have to go under the bridge before then.”
