Nigel Farage will launch a full-throated assault on Sir Keir Starmer in a major speech on Tuesday, accusing the Prime Minister of being “unpatriotic” and “utterly out of touch” with working-class Britain, as he seeks to firmly position Reform UK as the true voice of the people.
Framed as a “pitch to working people”, Mr Farage’s address will be delivered in the company of Reform’s newly elected council leaders, mayors, and Runcorn and Helsby MP Sarah Pochin — a show of strength designed to hammer home the party’s growing foothold across traditional Labour strongholds.
Allies of the Reform UK leader say the event marks a “coming-of-age moment” for the party, following notable successes in May’s local elections and the Runcorn by-election. They argue the perception of Reform as a protest vote has now given way to its emergence as a viable national force, especially among disillusioned working-class voters.
Mr Farage is expected to take a swipe at Sir Keir’s international policy decisions, including the recent agreement on the Chagos Islands and the government’s evolving relationship with the European Union. He will brand Labour’s approach “a betrayal of British sovereignty” and accuse the Prime Minister of “putting international courts before the British people”.
“He is the most unpatriotic Prime Minister in history,” a senior Reform source said. “He and his government are so hopelessly out of touch with working people. They U-turn on everything because they don’t truly believe in anything.”
As part of his offensive, Mr Farage will call on Sir Keir to join him in a working men’s club in the north of England to test who really connects with working-class communities. “Let’s see who they’d rather have a pint with,” said the source. “We believe Reform speaks their language.”
Farage is also expected to tackle issues that have caused considerable discomfort for the Labour leadership. He is likely to commit to scrapping the controversial two-child benefit cap — a policy that Sir Keir has refused to overturn — and to reinstating the universal winter fuel payment for pensioners, a move designed to highlight perceived Labour betrayals of their traditional base.
Migration will be another focal point. Farage will argue that Labour lacks the courage to bring net migration down to zero, and he will accuse the government of abandoning the core principles of Brexit through recent deals with Brussels.
But Labour is hitting back forcefully. Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves said: “Nigel Farage, a privately-educated stockbroker and career politician, has only ever been interested in promoting himself, not the lives of working people. His track record proves it — he wants to abolish the NHS, supported Liz Truss’s catastrophic mini-budget, and opposed key reforms to improve employment protections.
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“Farage’s so-called Reform manifesto was full of fantasy figures — billions in unfunded promises — and yet no commitment to protecting the state pension triple lock. He must come clean on whether he would slash pensions to pay for reckless tax cuts.”
She added that Labour’s new government was already making a tangible difference. “Keir Starmer’s plan for change is working. NHS waiting lists are falling, wages are rising faster than prices, and interest rates have come down four times this year. On top of that, we’ve delivered three new trade deals that are boosting jobs, lowering bills, and protecting our borders.”
Nevertheless, Reform’s growing confidence is impossible to ignore. As Farage prepares to target Labour’s traditional heartlands, his populist message and working-class pitch signal a fierce battle ahead for votes in areas where many once felt Labour spoke for them — but may now be tempted by a different voice.
