Prime Minister Keir Starmer has described Reform UK's proposal to repeal the Equality Act as 'shocking' and 'un-British', warning that the move would roll back decades of protections for women. In a pre-recorded interview with BBC Breakfast, Starmer said the legislation is 'British at its core' and represents 'basic values', arguing that Reform wants to send women back to the 'old days' when they were not treated equally.
Starmer emphasised that the Equality Act also protects people on grounds of race, recalling a time when landlords would display signs excluding individuals based on their race. 'I believe passionately to be tolerant, compassionate and diverse is what it is to be British,' he said. 'Reform's plan tears it up. I would genuinely like to see anyone from Reform defend the proposition that women should be treated differently.'
The comments come after Suella Braverman, who was sacked twice as home secretary and defected to Reform earlier this year, was appointed as the party's spokesperson for education, skills and equalities. At a press conference, Braverman said she would abolish her own equalities brief and repeal the Equality Act on her first day in government.
In the same interview, Starmer also addressed the position of Prince Andrew, urging him to speak to authorities in the UK and US about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 'Anybody who has any information should testify,' Starmer said. 'Whether it's Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward.' He reiterated the principle that 'everybody is equal under the law, and nobody is above the law'.
On local elections, Starmer defended the government's decision to abandon plans to postpone polls in 30 authorities, saying he had followed legal advice. The elections will now go ahead in May as originally scheduled.
