Reform MP Sarah Pochin has accused Sir Keir Starmer of being "utterly paranoid" about Nigel Farage after the Prime Minister devoted a speech to attacking the Reform UK leader.
The MP for Runcorn and Helsby said Starmer mentioned Farage 16 times in a six-minute speech during Thursday's press conference.
Pochin told GB News: "I think whoever planned this press conference for Keir Starmer today was very made a big misjudgment.
"This was all about Keir Starmer promoting Nigel Farage. It's clear that he's utterly paranoid now about Nigel, his rhetoric, what he's saying, what Reform is saying, where we are in the polls, which is well over 10 points ahead of Labour and clearly paranoid.
Sarah Pochin has accused Sir Keir Starmer of being 'utterly paranoid' about Nigel Farage
GB NEWS
"This was a very misjudged move today. I watched his speech, his speech twice, because I couldn't quite believe how many times he actually made reference to Nigel.
"I counted 16 times in a six-minute speech. I've never heard anything like that before. We've got them rattled.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
"We know we've got them rattled. We only gave a press conference on Tuesday and look what he's felt the need to do today.
"He did nothing but actually make himself look incompetent, make himself look like he hasn't got the answers, and very much promote reform and show the public that we do have the answers.
"So a very misjudged move today, I think, by Keir Starmer."
Speaking at a business in north-west England, Starmer launched a series of attacks on the Reform UK leader, comparing him to former Prime Minister Liz Truss.
"In opposition we said [Liz Truss] would crash the economy and leave you to pick up the bill," the Prime Minister said. "We were right. And we were elected to fix that mess."
He continued: "Now in government, we are once again fighting the same fantasy – this time from Farage."
Labelling Farage as "Liz Truss 2.0", Starmer accused him of "fantasy" economics and promising unfunded tax cuts.
The Prime Minister said the Reform leader was making "the exact same bet" as Truss, "that you can spend tens of billions on tax cuts without a proper way of paying for it".
The Prime Minister said the Reform leader was making "the exact same bet" as Truss
PA
The attacks came after Farage set out policy pledges on Tuesday, including more generous tax breaks for married couples and restoring winter fuel payments for all pensioners.
A spokesperson for Reform dismissed the Prime Minister's comments as a "desperate attack" from a party "behind in the polls".
Reform chairman Zia Yusuf said polls suggested that the public saw Reform as a "viable alternative" and that the Prime Minister was "panicking".
Most Read
