Business Secretary Peter Kyle has launched a scathing attack on Nigel Farage, describing the Reform UK leader as the 'today's incarnation of the politics of Enoch Powell'.
The senior Cabinet minister made the incendiary comparison while delivering a speech at the Co-operative Party conference on Saturday 15 November 2025.
Linking Economic Growth to Political Trust
Mr Kyle set the stage for his criticism by outlining the government's core objective. He insisted that the goal of boosting economic growth was essential to rebuild public trust in politics.
He told the conference that without securing higher, sustained growth, it becomes almost impossible to reconnect people with politics and generate faith in democracy. This void, he argued, creates a fertile ground for extremist parties.
'The appeal of the parties of the far right – with their dogma of disruption, division and despair – it becomes, too, alluring,' Mr Kyle stated.
A Direct Comparison to Powell and Far-Right History
The Business Secretary then directly linked this dynamic to the current political landscape and its key figures.
'We see it today with Reform, just as we did in previous times with the National Front and the British National Party,' he said.
He framed the issue in clear terms of cause and effect: 'Lack of economic growth it is the cause. Nigel Farage, today's incarnation of the politics of Enoch Powell, is the effect.'
The reference to Enoch Powell is highly charged. Powell, a former Conservative shadow minister, is infamously remembered for his 1968 'Rivers of Blood' speech, which was widely condemned for inflaming racial tensions in Britain.
A History of Political Sparring
This is not the first time Peter Kyle has publicly clashed with the Reform UK leader. Earlier this year, when Mr Farage voiced his opposition to the Government's Online Safety Act, Mr Kyle – who was then the technology secretary – made a controversial retort.
He claimed that people like Jimmy Savile would use the internet to exploit children if he were still alive, and insisted that anyone, like Mr Farage, who opposed the Act was 'on their side'.
The Co-operative Party conference, which is affiliated with Labour, also heard from Communities Secretary Steve Reed. He echoed the concerns about parties 'who feed off the decline and division', explicitly pointing to Reform UK.
Mr Reed added a note of unity, stating: 'But whatever our differences in our backgrounds, wherever we come from, people have a shared interest in making their own community as successful as it can be, so that is where we must build the bridges that bring people together.'
The article concluded by noting that Reform UK was contacted for comment on the minister's remarks.
