Blue Labour MP urges caution in branding Reform policies as ‘racist’

A Blue Labour MP has urged caution in branding policies by Reform UK as “racist” for fear of misinterpretation by the electorate.

Speaking at a fringe event hosted by More in Common at the 2025 Labour party conference in Liverpool, MP for Pendle and Clitheroe Jonathan Hinder said Labour had to be careful in its use of language in attacking Nigel Farage and his party’s policies.

It came after comments made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an interview with Laura Kuenssberg, in which he described Reform plans to make some legal migrants reapply for visas “racist” and “immoral”.

This led to criticism of Starmer in the right-wing press, with the Daily Mail running a headline which proclaimed: “Worried about immigration? Starmer says you’re racist”.

READ MORE: Starmer signals tougher stance on interpreting international human rights law

At the fringe event, chaired by The News Agents host and broadcaster Jon Sopel, Hinder said: “I think we’ve got to be very careful, because people who don’t pay attention to politics – and that’s, let’s be honest, most voters – can easily misinterpret what we say.

“We have our views about policies that are being announced, but at the same time, I think we need to be very careful.”

When asked by Sopel whether he would have made such comments, Hinder said: “No, I wouldn’t.”

Read the latest news, analysis and commentary on the 2025 Labour Party conference in Liverpool here on LabourList.

Also on the panel was Richard Burgon, MP for Leeds and member of the Socialist Campaign Group, who hit out at Starmer for “spending 80% of his interview with Laura Kuenssberg talking about immigration, rather than the issue which is of most importance to people in this country – the cost of living crisis”.

However, he also defended Keir Starmer over the comments he made about Reform policy and said: “He was asked a very specific question: ‘Is a Reform policy of deporting people who are legally here and have been here for years, is that a racist and immoral policy?’. He said yes – and he was right, and that’s why he shouldn’t allow any member of his Cabinet to push for or introduce such a policy.”

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