No 10 defends Starmer’s language on immigration likened to Enoch Powell speech

<p>Downing Street says it is wrong to compare PM’s warning about ‘island of strangers’ to 1968 ‘rivers of blood’ speech</p><p>Downing Street has robustly defended Keir Starmer’s language on immigration, which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/12/keir-starmer-defends-plans-to-curb-net-migration">has been likened</a> to that used by Enoch Powell, rejecting the direct comparison but saying the prime minister would not “shy away” from direct talk about the subject.</p><p>A series of MPs criticised Starmer for his rhetoric when introducing a new <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/12/whats-in-uk-immigration-white-paper-visa-rules-deportations-fees">policy paper on immigration</a> on Monday, particularly his warning that the UK risked becoming <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/12/keir-starmer-defends-plans-to-curb-net-migration">“an island of strangers”</a>, a near-direct echo of language used by Powell in his infamous 1968 <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/14/enoch-powell-rivers-blood-legacy-wolverhampton">“rivers of blood” speech</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/may/13/no-10-defends-keir-starmer-language-immigration-speech-enoch-powell">Continue reading...</a>